Skyfall
by psych21
Summary: (COMPLETED SEQUEL to Synchronicity) Now that Harvey and Rebecca are married, how does that change their relationship? Can they still work together as a team when their worlds start to fall apart? (Harvey X OC)
1. Chapter 1

Skyfall

Chapter One

Rebecca re-entered the funeral home slowly. The memorial service was still going on inside, but she needed a moment and some fresh air so she escaped to the small meditation garden they had off to the side of the building. From out in the entryway she could still hear the faint sound of a speaker talking about the departed. The dull tone of the speaker and the distance made it impossible to understand the words.

Not ready to go back in yet, she stared at the sign directing mourners to the right area. To the left was the Mckenzie memorial service. On the right were the directions to the Specter memorial service. She briefly wondered if anyone in the Mckenzie memorial service felt like she did today.

She didn't think this day would come. She hoped this day wouldn't come. But here it was, sneaking up on her like a ninja. Today was just another day in a string of bad luck that had befallen the Specter family. It was starting to feel like things were never going to be alright. Normal life had changed so many times lately that it felt normal to be overwhelmed and sad. She had been in crisis mode for so long now that it felt weird when they had the occasional moment to breathe deep and relax.

She knew she should go back in there, sit in the front row and listen to the people saying good things about the departed. It was expected of her to be in there. She knew it was rude not to be in there and she knew other people needed her support. They needed her to be strong. But she didn't have it in her anymore to be the strong one. It was exhausting and she honestly didn't have the energy.

So she went over to the couch by the window and sat down. It had been one hell of a ride the last five months.

Five months Prior

Harvey rolled over in bed, expecting to see Rebecca still next to him. Instead, he found the bed empty and frowned. It was a Saturday and he was hoping they could spend some extra time in bed together because she had been working late every night this week. She apparently had other ideas though.

Hearing the faint sound of Latin jazz music coming from outside the bedroom, he begrudgingly got out of bed to find her. She had recently started listening to Latin jazz only while cooking so he figured she was in the kitchen.

He walked through to the living room, noticing that she was in the kitchen with her back to him. She was wearing his Harvard shirt and seemed to be cooking at the stove but he couldn't take his eyes off of her to see what she was making. She was dancing while cooking again, swaying her hips to the beat of the song. While he couldn't say he was a big fan of the music, her dancing was absolutely mesmerizing. His wife was mesmerizing.

Wife.

At times that still seemed like a foreign concept to him, even now that they had been married for a little over two years. Although he did freak out a couple of times about the kind of commitment he was making during their year-long engagement, he never waivered about his love for her. He also stayed true to his word and made sure that they worked it out together. They still fought about things pretty often. Some of their arguments even got pretty heated. But they didn't break up. They faced everything together, as a team.

For the most part they had learned how to fight fairly and responsibly and he was proud of them for that. They had finally reached a point where they were completely comfortable with each other and the commitment they made to their relationship.

He stood there watching her for another song and half. She was beautiful. There was no denying that. He loved seeing her dressed up but he also loved seeing her like this…totally relaxed and carefree. It wasn't long before she turned around, immediately freezing mid spin.

"Hi." She laughed awkwardly.

"Hi." He smirked.

She reached for the remote and turned off the music. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know that I'm lucky enough to get breakfast and a show." He chuckled, going over and wrapping his arm around her waist.

"You should have made your presence known." She lightly chided him.

"But then you would have stopped and I love watching you dance."

She reached up and gave him a kiss. "Anytime you want me to dance for you, all you have to say is please."

"Really?" He grinned.

"Really." She grinned back, nodding her head.

"I'll have to keep that in mind." He told her. "I missed you in bed this morning."

"Sorry. I was just finishing breakfast." She kissed his cheek and then went back to the stove. "I've got eggs, bacon and sausage ready. Did you want toast today?"

"No thanks." He shook his head. He looked over at the coffee pot. "Did you try to make my signature coffee again?"

"Yeah." She smiled proudly. "I think I've finally mastered it. I can't wait for you to try it."

She had been pestering him since he proposed to teach her the secret ingredient in his coffee and finally wore him down about a month ago. So he told her about the secret ingredient being vanilla but didn't tell her how much or when he put it in.

Her first several tries were horrible and he hoped this try was better. He poured himself a cup and took a drink. "You've finally got it down. This is almost as good as when I make it."

"Yes! I knew it!" She pumped her arm in victory and held up her fist for him to fist bump.

"You have got to stop hanging out with Mike doing pro bono cases while Rachel is on maternity leave." He groaned. "A fist bump? Really?"

"Seriously? Mastering your special, fancy pants coffee doesn't get me a fist bump?"

"Hell no." He chuckled.

"How about a high five?" She pouted.

"That's a negative." He smirked.

"Shouldn't I get some kind of reward or recognition?"

He put his mug down and then trapped her against the counter. "You should know by now that I have my own reward system for you that doesn't include fist bumps or high fives." He whispered in her ear as one hand dipped underneath the bottom of her shirt. He was pleased that she wasn't wearing underwear. It made it easier for him to insert two fingers inside of her.

He watched her as her eyes closed and her breathing hitched. He started pumping slowly before increasing the speed. Then he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Of course, if you want me to switch to fist bumps, I can."

"Don't…you…ever…switch to those." She panted, opening her eyes and bringing his face to hers so she could kiss him.

After a few more moments, he removed his fingers. He watched as she quickly pulled his boxer shorts down. He promptly lifted her legs so they wrapped around his waist. His thrusts were gentle at first, establishing a slower rhythm.

She ran a hand through his hair, matching his thrusts with her own. "God, Harvey…harder…"

Her wish was his command as he increased both the speed and the intensity of his thrusts. It wasn't too long before he couldn't take it anymore. He knew by the sounds she was making she was on the brink just like him so he brought it home for both of them with just a few more thrusts.

He looked at her face and gave her a kiss before lifting her up to the counter because he knew her legs would be like jelly for a moment after their excursion. He pulled his boxers back up. "So was that better than a fist bump?" He smirked.

"Hell yeah it was." She smirked, giving him a quick kiss.

"Good." He took a sip of his coffee. "Now I'm ready for breakfast."

He got her a plate of food before he made one for himself, making sure that she had her extra bacon on hers. By the time he had both plates made, he turned to see she had both of their coffees and was walking over to the table. He sat down next to her and started to eat.

"Don't forget you are on your own tonight." She told him after a few minutes of eating.

"Why?" He chuckled. "You have a hot date or something?"

"Yeah. I do" She smirked. "Their names are Laura and James. I'm babysitting for Mike and Rachel tonight so they can actually try to spend some time together without the kids before she comes back to work in a couple of weeks."

"Oh."

She giggled. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"I did forget that was tonight." He admitted sheepishly. "Do you want some company?"

"You really want to help me babysit our Godchildren?" She scoffed. Usually he did whatever he could to get out of it. One time he even willingly went out to dinner and to the ballet with Louis instead of helping her. Louis was thrilled about it because he had been trying to get Harvey to go with him to the ballet for years. She wasn't as happy about the lengths he went to in order to get out of babysitting duty.

"Not particularly. But I want to spend time with you." He clarified.

"If you want to come with me, you can. But you'll have to help me out this time." She told him.

"Ok." He nodded. Laura would be three in a couple of months and James was two months old. How bad could it be?


	2. Chapter 2

Skyfall

Chapter Two

"Thank you so much!" Rachel gushed over her as Mike ushered her towards the door. "You have no idea how much I have been looking forward to this! I haven't gotten out of the house much lately and you're being a lifesaver…"

"It's really not a problem." Rebecca smiled. "Now get out of here and go have some fun. I've got this taken care of."

"C'mon Rachel or we will miss our reservation." Mike chuckled.

"We won't be out too late." She assured her.

"Take your time." Rebecca told them. "Enjoy each other's company."

Once Mike and Rachel were out of the house, she went back to the living room. Harvey was sitting on the couch with Laura, who was so entranced by an episode of Sesame Street that it seemed she didn't care her parents were gone. In his arms was James. Mike had basically shoved James into Harvey's arms after finally getting the child away from Rachel so they could leave.

She leaned up against the door frame, watching the scene in front of her. She had to admit that seeing Harvey holding a baby was always a surreal moment. It didn't happen often, but when it did she soaked up the image in her mind. It made her wonder if they would ever have a child together. She still wanted children.

Sometimes she dreamed about having kids with him. They would get a bigger place and stop living in the penthouse. Their weekends would be filled with plenty of family time and laughter. But as the time went by that dream started to fade.

They hadn't talked about kids in over a year, save for the random comment here and there. At that time, Harvey said he just wasn't ready to change the dynamic they had in their relationship. That was a year ago though. She had to wonder if his stance had changed.

He certainly looked sexy holding a baby. Of course she thought he looked sexy all the time.

She didn't want to say she was amazed their relationship had lasted this long. But after everything they endured together before getting engaged, she had lingering doubts at first that they would even get married. Harvey did freak out a few times during their engagement, which was why she made him agree to stay engaged for a year.

She wanted to make sure that he had plenty of time to freak out and change his mind if he needed to before they got married because as far as she was concerned there was no option available for them to divorce. They were going to be together no matter what now.

His freak outs thankfully didn't have anything to do with the love he had for her. It was mostly about the institution of marriage itself and the actual ceremony. So it was easier for them to work through it.

James started to cry and Harvey started to panic. He looked over at her, silently asking for help. She took pity on him and walked over, taking James in her arms and shushing him quietly.

"What's wrong with him?" Harvey asked.

"He does this a lot." Laura told him, not looking away from the television. "It's soooooooooo annoying."

"Hey, you did that when you were a baby too." Harvey pointed out.

"No I didn't." Laura shot back immediately.

"You did too." Harvey chuckled.

"Did not!" Laura challenged, turning to look at him.

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"You want to help me out here?" Harvey asked, turning to look at her.

"Not really." She laughed. "I'm staying out of this because I know better than to get into this kind of argument with a toddler. That's a rookie move right there."

"Thanks for the help." He grumbled with a grin on his face. Then he turned his attention back to Laura, who was staring him down with her arms crossed over her chest. "Ok. Maybe you didn't cry exactly like James."

"That's what I thought." She laughed, turning back to Sesame Street.

Harvey got up and whispered into her ear. "When did she get so incredibly sassy?"

"She's just going through a phase."

"I thought they weren't supposed to be that sassy until they were teenagers." He laughed.

"She's just advanced for her age." She laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

"So what is wrong with James?"

"He isn't wet or stinky so it isn't a diaper change. He is rooting around with his mouth though so I bet he is hungry." She focused on James. "You're hungry little man, aren't you? Yes, I bet you are. Let's get you something to eat."

She went into the kitchen and took one of bottles of breast milk out of the refrigerator. She put it in the bottle warmer. While it was warming up, she looked down at James, who had stopped crying. He was now just making noises and staring at her face.

"You're a cutie, you know that?" She told the baby. "You have the cutest little hands. I could just eat you up." She smiled at him and let him grab onto her finger. After a few moments, the bottle warmer beeped and she took the bottle out.

"Would you like some dinner?" She asked before offering the bottle to him. "There you go." Once he started drinking, she brought him back out to the living room. "We need to get Laura to bed now."

"No!" Laura screamed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't want to!"

"If Aunt Becca says it is time for bed, then it's time for bed." Harvey spoke up.

"No it isn't." Laura challenged.

"I'm not getting into it with you like that again." He chuckled. "I learned my lesson the first time."

"It is your bedtime and you need to get some sleep." She pointed out.

"I don't wanna." Laura pouted.

"C'mon sweetie." She said in a calm voice. "How about Uncle Harvey puts you to bed and reads you that princess book you love so much?"

"Ok!" Laura instantly smiled. "Will you Uncle Harvey? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please?"

She made eye contact with Harvey and winked. "Yeah. Will you Uncle Harvey? Please?"

"How can I say no to that?" Harvey chuckled.

"You can't!" Laura told him with a huge smile on her face.

"Ok." Harvey nodded. "Let's go upstairs and read the princess book."

"Yay!" Laura jumped up off the couch and did a little victory dance.

"Goodnight Laura." She called after them.

"Goodnight Aunt Becca." Laura called back as she disappeared up the stairs.

"Looks like it's just you and me now." Rebecca said, looking back down at James as he ate.

* * *

It took Harvey way too long to get Laura to go to bed. He had to read the entire princess book twice before she finally closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep. The first time he read the book she interrupted him every five to ten seconds with questions about the princess and the story. He didn't know how to answer so he just started making stuff up. It seemed to make her happy.

He quietly snuck out of Laura's room and went to go find Rebecca. He heard some quiet singing and realized she was in James' nursery. He stood in the doorway, watching as she sang to him while he was in his crib. It took him a while to realize she was singing a very quiet version of Guns N' Roses' Welcome to the Jungle. He thought that was an odd choice, but it seemed to be working.

She was amazing with kids. It wasn't just Mike and Rachel's kids that she was good with either. She was wonderful with Marcus and Katie's children too. They loved their Aunt Becca probably more than they loved their Uncle Harvey.

She had the ability to talk to kids on their level without sounding condescending. He struggled with that sometimes and he was utterly helpless with babies. He tried, but there was no way for him to understand what a baby wanted. The different cries that corresponded with different needs was too much for him.

As he watched her put James to bed, he wondered about if they would ever have kids. He knew that she wanted to have kids. The last thing he ever wanted to do was prevent her from getting anything she wanted…but he wasn't sure he was ready for kids. He had to give her credit though. She had been patient with him, not hounding him about it. The last time they seriously talked about it was almost a year ago when Rachel got pregnant with James.

Her singing stopped and he saw her stand up. She turned around and smiled at him, motioning for him to leave so she could get out of the room too. They were quiet as they walked back downstairs.

"What's with the lullaby you chose?" He chuckled, watching as she blushed slightly.

"I panicked trying to think of a lullaby. I didn't want to do the same old boring ones everyone sings and it was the first song that came into my mind. I blame the jungle theme Rachel had painted on the walls." She chuckled.

"Well that definitely isn't a boring lullaby." He pointed out.

"How did it go with Laura?" She asked as they sat on the couch together.

"It took forever, but she finally went to sleep." He chuckled.

"Did you like the princess book?" She laughed.

"No." He shook his head. "But she did. I guess that's what matters. You're so good with them."

"Thanks." She smiled. "You're not so bad yourself."

"I'm not nearly as good at it as you are."

"Well you don't have as much practice as I do." She pointed out. "I'm over here a lot more than you are."

"That's true." He agreed.

"Maybe if you spent more time with them, you might feel more comfortable." She suggested.

"Maybe." He nodded before he leaned in and started to kiss her. As soon as he tried to move her so that he could lay on top of her on the couch, she pushed at his chest.

"We can't do that right now."

"Why not?" He asked. "They are asleep."

"But Laura could wake up and come down here. If that were to happen, I don't want to have to explain what she would see. And I definitely don't want to have to explain it to Rachel and Mike." She pointed out. "Sorry."

"It's ok." He nodded. "I guess you have a point."

"Are you happy?" She asked.

He looked at her strangely. It was a weird thing for her to ask out of the blue. "Why would you ask that?"

"I'm just curious." She shrugged. "Let's face it. We haven't exactly had a lot of quality time together lately to just sit and enjoy each other's company."

"Well we would if someone would stop courting new clients every week." He joked.

"Can I help it if I want to have the most clients out of everyone in the firm?" She laughed.

"You're turning into a workaholic." He warned.

"You're one to talk." She gently poked him in the stomach.

"I haven't been nearly as much of a workaholic lately as you." He pointed out. It was true. She was working a lot harder than he was, and if he wanted to be honest it had been that way for a while now. It wasn't uncommon for him to come home and leave her at the office, or for him to waste time in his office while she worked late so they could go home together.

"Ok." She playfully rolled her eyes at him. "You still didn't answer my question. Are you happy?'

"Of course I am." He told her. "Are you happy?"

She smiled and touched his cheek. "I am extremely happy. Marrying you was the best decision I've ever made."

"Asking you a second time was the best decision I've ever made."

"I would agree with that." She nodded, a smirk on her face. "Some of your decisions haven't been that good."

"Maybe in the past." He conceded. "But now I make great decisions."

"Except trying that new Thai place around the corner from home." She shivered and pretended to gag. "It was terrible."

"That wasn't entirely my fault though." He laughed. "It came highly recommended."

"No I guess it's not entirely your fault." She giggled. A moment later she snuggled up next to him, laying her head on his shoulder.

He tightened his grip around her body. Since they couldn't make out or have sex, he would settle for having her pressed up against him. Any kind of closeness to her was good enough at this point.

"So…do you want to take a look at their Netflix account and see what they have watched so you can make fun of Mike about it later on?"

He laughed. She knew him too well because he had wanted to do that ever since Mike and Rachel left. "Yeah. Then can we…"

"Find random and disturbing shows to watch so that it skews their recommendations to weird things?" She finished his question for him. "Absolutely! I already have a few ideas jotted down in my phone."

"Goddammit, I love you." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"I know." She chuckled.

A/N: Just a disclaimer...yes this story will be filled with drama and angst. There will be happy moments too though. I look forward to taking this journey into Harvey and Rebecca's lives with you!


	3. Chapter 3

Skyfall

Chapter Three

Harvey opened his eyes and looked at the clock. He had woken up early enough that he could try and persuade Rebecca to have some morning fun before work. A wicked grin formed on his face. He reached over to the other side of the bed and felt it was empty. With a heavy sigh he shoved the covers away and got up to find Rebecca. It didn't take him long to find her in the kitchen again.

"This is getting to be a nasty little habit of yours." He scolded playfully. "Why can't you just stay in bed for once in the morning?"

"Because I wanted to make you breakfast." She chuckled, turning around with a smile on her face. She turned off the music. "If you don't like it, then sue me."

"I could, you know…" He smirked. "For emotional distress."

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. "You could certainly try. The judge would immediately dismiss your case though and you know it. Can you imagine your argument? Your Honor, my wife keeps making me delicious breakfasts so I had to sue her so she would stay in bed with me. You'd be the laughing stock of New York City."

He chuckled. "I guess you're right. So what are you making this morning?" He walked over to her and put his arm around her waist.

"Bacon, eggs and French toast." She replied, leaning into his embrace.

"My favorite breakfast." He stated.

"I know." She moved so she could give him a quick kiss. "Now go sit down. I already have coffee on the table and I'll bring you a plate."

He did what he was told. She usually didn't make a big breakfast on a weekday unless it was a special occasion. He went through the possibilities. It wasn't their anniversary. That was a couple of months ago. It also wasn't her birthday. That's when it hit him. It was his birthday.

She came over with a lit candle in his French toast and placed it on the table. "Happy birthday, Harvey."

"I forgot that was today." He admitted. "You know you could have let me forget it and let that be my present this year."

"But where would the fun be in that?" She laughed, kissing his cheek. "Blow out the candle and make a wish."

He grabbed her by the wrist and lightly pulled her over so that she was now sitting on his lap. "What if I have everything I want already right here in my arms?"

She smirked. "Well…in that case, you could always use your birthday wish to get a couple of new pairs of shoes or purses for your beautiful, wonderful, amazing wife."

He laughed and quickly blew out the candle. "So what else do you have planned for me today?" In the past he never cared about his birthday. She had taken it upon herself to always do something special for him. While he hated his birthday less now, he still didn't like it. It was too much of a reminder that he was getting older. She seemed to like making a big deal about his birthday though, so he played along.

"I could tell you but then it wouldn't be a surprise." She grinned.

"You know I don't like surprises." He groaned.

"That's part of what makes it so much fun." She whispered in his ear. She kissed his cheek and then hopped off of his lap. "Eat up. We have to get into the office soon."

"Can't we stay home and play hooky instead?" He asked, pouring some maple syrup onto his French toast. "We could stay in bed all day long."

"Nope." She shook her head. "Sorry, but not today."

"Fine." He sighed. Right before he started to eat, she placed a large, square box in front of him. "What's this?"

"It's your birthday present." She grinned. "I know I usually give you your present at the end of the day but I really feel like I outdid myself this year and I can't wait to see your face. So open it, please?"

He smiled at her enthusiasm and picked up the box. "What did you do this year?" She always seemed to figure out the perfect gift for him. It was the only part of his birthday that he actually kind of liked. He pulled out a basketball on a display like the other ones in his office.

"What do you think?" She asked.

He read the autograph on the ball. "You're joking, right? This isn't a fake?"

"No." She shook her head. "It's not a joke and it's definitely not a fake."

"You actually got Julius Erving…Dr. J himself, to sign this?"

"Yup." She nodded.

"How?"

"I did some work for him in LA about five or six years ago with a charity he started. When he decided to join with Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz to form the BIG3 tournament earlier this year, he asked me to look over some things for him to make sure his lawyers weren't steering him in the wrong direction. I agreed to do it for free if he sent me that for you."

"So you're telling me you actually know him? You've talked to him?" He couldn't believe that had never come up in conversation before.

"Yeah. I've talked to him several times." She nodded. "I've also met him and shaken his hand."

"How have you never told me this before?" He chuckled.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I guess it just never really came up. It's a good present though, right?"

He sat the basketball down and got up to kiss her. "It's an amazing present. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

They arrived at work and entered one of the elevators to go up to the 50th floor. When they got halfway up she pressed the stop button, causing the elevator to jerk before freezing up.

"Why did you do that?" He asked.

"Because…" She trailed off, turning to face him. "Remember a couple of months ago when we had that huge fight about the strategy for the Matayas case and we started arguing about it in this very elevator on our way home?"

"Vaguely." He nodded.

"After we got home and you realized I was right all along, you told me that you thought I looked incredibly sexy while we were fighting in here." She got closer to him and started whispering in his ear. "You said, and I think this is as close to a direct quote as possible, that you had trouble concentrating about what we were fighting about. What kept going through your mind was how much you wanted to press me up against the side of the elevator and slam yourself into me as hard as I could stand it. Does that jog your memory at all?"

"Yes. I can't believe you remembered that." He marveled.

She pulled away so she could see his face. "Of course I remembered it. I filed it away and saved it so that we could do it on your birthday. But we have to be quick about it before they start to wonder why the elevator isn't working. I had Kenny disable the cameras in here for ten minutes. After that, they will see things I don't want them seeing."

"Who is Kenny?"

"The day security guard." She told him. "He's been working here every Monday-Friday for the past ten years."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do." She chuckled. "But can we talk about that later? The clock is ticking."

"Then what are we waiting for?" He asked before pulling her as close to him as humanely possible and attacking her mouth with his while letting his hands roam freely around her body.

* * *

Harvey was going over the Dorsey lawsuit for the sixth time when his cell phone went off. Looking at the caller id, he decided to pick up. Anything was better than rereading the lawsuit again and looking for the right angle to win it.

"Hey bro. How does it feel to be one year closer to losing all your hair and your sex drive?" Marcus greeted with a chuckle.

"Neither of those things are ever going to happen to me, so I don't know." He laughed.

"Happy birthday Harvey." Marcus said, getting serious for a moment.

"Thanks."

"How are things going?"

"Things are good around here." He answered honestly. There were obviously things that were stressful, but for the most part everything in the firm was going well. His marriage to Rebecca felt like it was on strong, stable ground. Things felt good. "How are Katie and the kids?"

"They are doing well. Though I'm sure Rebecca could fill you in everything since she talks to Katie every day." Marcus laughed.

"Yeah, she probably could." He was glad that Rebecca had gotten so close to Katie. "How are the restaurants?"

"Business is good." Marcus explained. "It's almost too good. I'm glad I hired a business manager a couple of months ago to take care of that side of things."

Marcus has opened up a second restaurant on the other side of Boston last year. It surprised him that his baby brother ended up being so good at the restaurant business. He never would have guessed it. But Marcus proved him wrong and he was actually glad to be wrong.

"Good."

"So look, I just called to say Happy Birthday. And Katie wanted me to ask when you think you two are going to come up for a visit again."

He laughed. "That pretty much means she just wants to hang out with Rebecca and is willing to put up with me being around."

Marcus laughed. "Yeah, that's a fair assessment."

"Let me look at what we have going on this month and I'll get back to you." He said.

"Fair enough. Try to have fun with whatever Rebecca decided to plan for you today. Tell her I said hello."

"I will. Tell Katie and the kids I said hello."

"Will do." Marcus agreed. "Bye Harvey."

"Bye Marcus." He put his phone down and sighed. He should get back to this lawsuit but he didn't want to. It was proving to be a difficult case and he wasn't sure how he was going to pull out a victory.

* * *

"So you know to keep him here an extra hour, right?" Rebecca asked Donna as she stood at the secretary's desk later that day.

"Absolutely." Donna nodded. "Do you think that's enough time for you to set everything up?"

"I think so." She shrugged.

"By the way, your birthday present was absolutely inspired this year. I've caught him staring at it all morning."

She laughed. "I'm glad he liked it."


	4. Chapter 4

Skyfall

Chapter Four

Rebecca made sure that everything was all spread out on the blanket in front of the fireplace. Donna had sent a text to alert her about when Harvey had left the office. So according to her calculations and allowing for traffic, it meant Harvey was due to come walking through the door any minute now.

Hearing his key hit the lock, she hurried over to the doorway, flashing him a smile as he opened the door.

"Whoa." He smiled, looking her up and down. "Are we going out tonight?"

She had put on a very slinky black dress and had her hair pinned up the way he liked so that it exposed her neck. "No. I thought we could stay in tonight."

"Sounds good to me." He smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist. "You look way too sexy to share with others."

She kissed him. "I have a little picnic set up by the fire for us."

He reluctantly let go of her and went over to look at it. "You did all of this for me?"

"Of course." She smiled.

"Are those my favorite hot dogs from the vendor cart?"

"Yes. I went to the one by the courthouse and got them." She nodded.

"You think of everything, don't you?" He chuckled.

"I try." She smirked. Then she looked at his face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just thinking about the Dorsey lawsuit." He sighed.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. "Hey. It's your birthday. Let's forget about the outside world for a couple of hours and just be together."

"I know you mean well but I'm not sure I can do that." He told her. "This case is difficult."

"You're Harvey Specter. I'm sure you will figure a way to win the case." She pointed out.

"I appreciate the pep talk, but I've gone over the lawsuit for hours today and I haven't found anything I can use."

"That doesn't mean you won't be able to win. It just means you have to work harder. And you will. It's going to be fine." She saw the look on his face and sighed. He wasn't going to let this go.

"Look, if you want to eat the hot dogs, we should get started before they get cold." She went over to the blanket and sat down, tucking her legs underneath her body. She watched as he took off his suit jacket and tie before sitting across from her.

"These are so good. I can see why they are your favorite." She said in between bites.

"Yeah."

"Did I manage to surprise you?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to give me one word answers all night?" She asked, sighing loudly.

"I don't know." He answered. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad?" She asked, answering his question with her own question. "It's not like I put in time or effort to do something nice for you only to have you essentially piss all over it."

"So I guess you are mad." He stated quietly.

"You're goddamn right I'm mad. All I wanted was to give you a nice night with some of your favorite things. And instead of you trying to put work out of your mind for even a moment, you're letting your mind take you a million miles away from me."

"It's a lawsuit against one of my clients, not a paper cut that I refuse to stop complaining about." He pointed out. "Cut me some slack here."

"You know what? I cut you a lot of slack." She laughed as she stood up. "But I know you don't like your birthday and maybe I shouldn't have even bothered."

He stood up and tried to grab a hold of her but she backed up. "Rebecca, this lawsuit brought on today is important…"

"I know!" She told him. "I am aware that it is important. I'm not asking you to completely forget about it. I'm asking you to take a night and be with me. Let me help distract you for a little bit."

"I can't." He shook his head. "I'm sorry. But my mind keeps going back to it."

"Fine." She shook her head and walked away, going into the bedroom.

"Can you please not be mad at me for this?" He asked, following her. "This is work and we have an agreement about this."

"No. You don't get to invoke that in this situation. Our agreement is to not get mad if the other person has to break plans in order to do work on a case in an emergency. But this isn't an emergency. It's not the eleventh-hour before court or a deposition. You're just freaking out about this case and I don't even understand why." She explained.

"You wouldn't understand." He told her.

"Then explain it to me! I'd love to understand what is so frustrating about this case that you can't put it out of your mind for two hours."

"I can't explain it."

"You mean you won't." She sighed.

"I mean I can't."

"Fine." She sighed again, going over to the closet and pulling out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm changing out of this dress and I'm going for a walk around the neighborhood so you can concentrate on your beloved case and I can hopefully stop being so mad about this." She explained.

"Is that new?" He asked softly as she slipped out of her dress.

She looked down at the new lingerie she put on for tonight and rolled her eyes. She bought it especially for tonight because it was his favorite color. "Yes. It was supposed to be the second part of your birthday present but right now you don't deserve to even see it. So maybe you should just close your eyes right now."

"Rebecca…"

"Just stop Harvey." She silenced him as she slid her jeans on. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. If I hear the word lawsuit one more time right now I will scream."

She walked past him once she got her sneakers on and headed towards the door.

"Please don't leave." He asked.

"I'm not leaving forever." She said, turning to face him. She walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm just leaving for a few minutes so I can cool down and not end up saying something I'll regret or something that is hurtful. I'll be back in a little bit."

* * *

He sat on the couch nursing a drink, wondering how long Rebecca would be out walking. After checking his watch he found that she had already been gone for twenty minutes.

It wasn't that he couldn't explain what was stressing him out about the lawsuit. It was more that he didn't want to explain it. Lately he had realized he had changed a lot in the past few years since meeting Rebecca.

He wasn't quite as focused on work as he used to be. He found himself rushing to get things done just so he could come home and spend time with her, which usually ended up being futile because she worked such long hours. He was infinitely more vulnerable to the people he cared about. And he felt like he was losing that certain edge that made him an unstoppable force.

But he didn't know how to say that to her.

He heard the door open and relaxed once he saw her walking down the hallway towards him.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." She came over and sat on the arm of the chair that was facing across from his seat on the couch.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Not really." She sighed. "Harvey, what's this all really about?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're Harvey Specter. You could chew up and spit out twenty lawsuits before lunch, and you know it. So let me repeat the question. What is this really about? Because I have a hard time believing that this case is the only thing bothering you."

The way she knew him was incredible. Sometimes he didn't give her enough credit for it. "I feel like I have lost my mojo lately."

"Mojo?" She asked, clearly trying not to laugh.

"Yeah." He repeated. "Mojo."

"Believe me, you have plenty of mojo." She smirked.

"I don't mean that kind of mojo." He chuckled. "I mean lawyer mojo."

She came over and sat next to him, studying his face for a moment. "You're really worried about this."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Harvey, there's nothing for you to worry about. You have more mojo in your pinky finger than other lawyers could even dream of having in their whole body. Trust me. You have not lost your lawyer mojo. You are still the biggest, baddest lawyer this city has ever seen. And you are going to crush this lawsuit because that's what you do. You dominate."

"I dominate?" He looked over and smirked.

"Hell yeah you dominate." She winked.

He lightly tugged at her shirt. "You wanna come with me and let me practice my dominating skills on you?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Seriously?"

"Well it is still my birthday…" He trailed off as he picked her up caveman style and carried her to the bedroom.

* * *

Later that night, Harvey pulled her closer in bed so she was laying up against his side. "Are you still mad at me about earlier?"

"No." She assured him. "I'm sorry about leaving. I just knew that if I stayed I was going to end up saying something that I didn't mean and it would have been something hurtful. I didn't want to do that. So I left to cool down."

"I understand that now." He assured her. "At the time it hurt, but I see it was the right choice."

"Are we good?" She asked, moving so she could see him.

"We're good." He smiled, moving in to kiss her.

"Do you want any help with the Dorsey case?" She offered.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm going to forget about it tonight and attack it again tomorrow. Someone very wise told me that I should let myself be distracted tonight."

"Wise?" She laughed. "That's how you would describe this person?"

"Well wise is just the tip of the iceberg." He chuckled. "This person is also gorgeous, kind, funny, smart…"

"Ok. I get the picture." She gave him a kiss and moved to lay on top of him. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you for today." He said, looking into her eyes. "How is it you always seem to know what I need before I do?"

"Just part of my charm." She smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

Skyfall

Chapter Five

The next morning Harvey woke up and found Rebecca still in bed next to him. He pulled her closer to him and started to kiss her neck.

"Harvey…" She trailed off, laughing softly. "C'mon. I was trying to sleep."

"I know." He told her. "I just got excited because you were still in bed this morning instead of bouncing around the kitchen."

"Do I need to remind you that my bouncing around in the kitchen does give you a home-cooked breakfast? And they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day." She pointed out.

"No. And you know how much I appreciate it when you cook for me. But sometimes I would rather grab a bagel from the cart if it meant I got to spend some more time with you in bed." He admitted. "I can't ever seem to get enough of you."

"I know that feeling well." She turned to face him and ran her hand through his hair before kissing him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." He said, looking at her curiously. "What brought that on?"

"Just was thinking it so I thought I'd say it." She smiled. "So did you have a reason for wanting me to stay in bed in the morning? Did you have a plan?"

"I always have plans." He smirked.

"Want to let me in on the plan?"

"Why tell you when I could just show you?" He started to kiss her and climbed on top of her.

* * *

"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that mind of yours." Rebecca laughed as she walked with Harvey towards their offices. He had just told her about a weird dream he had the night before about being in high school and being best friends with Louis. Apparently in the dream they did everything together, even double dating.

"Most of the time I'm just thinking about you." He slyly slipped his hand into hers as they walked.

She looked over at him and smiled, rolling her eyes. "You're becoming quite the sweet-talker."

"I have a good muse." He whispered in her ear.

They walked past Donna's desk and Rebecca stopped when Donna called out to them.

"What are you two doing Friday night?" Donna asked.

Rebecca looked at Donna and then at Harvey before looking back at her friend. "We are free. Right?"

"As far as I know we are free. But you should already know that because you are in control of our schedule." Harvey shrugged. "Why are you asking?"

"It's no big deal or anything. But I've kind of been seeing this guy for a while and I wanted you two to meet him." Donna explained.

"Ok." Harvey nodded. "Just tell me when and where." He then kissed Rebecca on the cheek and went into his office.

"Why do you look so nervous?" She asked her friend. "The entire time I've known you, I've never seen you look this nervous."

"I really care about this guy." Donna explained. "You and Harvey are going to be the first ones from my life that I'm introducing him to."

"So we're your guinea pigs to see how he fits into your life?" She laughed. "Ok. I'm just curious though. How long have you been seeing him?"

"Eight months." Donna answered.

"I'm sorry. I thought you just said eight months." She scoffed. "But you surely would have told me about him at least once during those eight months…right?"

"I was trying to keep it quiet from Harvey. He has scared away some guys before."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he didn't think they were 'worthy' of me." Donna explained.

"Well that's kind of sweet." She pointed out.

"I guess." Donna sighed. "But I really like Charles. That's his name. I don't want Harvey to scare him off."

"I'll talk to Harvey and get him to back off."

"Thank you." Donna smiled.

"But in return, you have to have lunch with me tomorrow and tell me everything about this Charles guy. You have been holding out on me, Donna Paulsen, and it's time for you to share all the details." She grinned.

Donna chuckled. "Fair enough."

* * *

"Louis, do you have a moment?" Rebecca asked later in the day as she entered Louis' office.

"Sure." He nodded, giving her a smile. "What's going on?"

"I have some financials for the Strongmire merger that I need a second opinion on. I was wondering if you could take a look at them for me whenever you get a chance." She held up the folder.

"Yeah, I can do that." He nodded.

"Oh Louis thank you!" She smiled, handing him the folder. "I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem." He told her.

Over the past couple of years she had gotten a lot closer to Louis and she was glad to have him as a friend. Although Harvey still liked to tease the man and they didn't always get along, she liked him and he had been nothing but nice to her. They had gone to lunch together several times while working on cases together and sometimes just for fun as friends.

He even asked her to go mudding with him once, but she told him she was allergic to one of the compounds in the mud and he never asked again. It was an effective way to say no without hurting the man's feelings and she was proud of her quick thinking.

"So I haven't seen you much lately."

"I've been working pretty hard." She admitted.

"I'll say." He chuckled. "You're not only juggling your own cases but also helping Mike while Rachel is gone. Then I see you bringing in new clients left and right. How do you have time to do all of that?"

"I'm just good at time management." She smirked.

"Apparently." He shrugged. "It's definitely impressive and it hasn't gone unnoticed."

"Thank you." She chuckled. "How are things going with Shelia?"

"Things are good." He nodded. "Thank you for asking. Not many people around here do."

"We're friends, Louis. Of course I'm going to ask."

"Since you asked, can I get your opinion on something?"

She noticed he looked nervous. "Of course. What is it?"

"I'm thinking of giving her this." He pulled out a ring box from his suit jacket and opened it. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

She smiled at the thought of Louis getting married. She had met Shelia numerous times over the past couple of years and she could tell that the woman loved Louis. "I think it's a great idea."

"You think she will say yes?" Louis asked.

"Of course she will." She nodded. "She loves you, Louis. That is plain to see."

"Thanks." He looked less nervous now. "I'll get this done for you by the end of the day." He told her.

"It doesn't have to be done today. Sometime tomorrow is fine too." She didn't want him to think he had to drop everything to help her.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure it won't take too long anyway." He assured her.

"Ok. Thanks." She gave him a smile and then left towards her own office. Before she went into her office, she decided to go into Harvey's. Donna wasn't at her desk, which meant they could have a conversation without the redhead listening in.

"Hey." He looked up and smiled at her. "What brings you by in the middle of the day?"

"Something's been bothering me. I've been thinking about it a lot and I want to talk to you about it. If you have a moment, that is."

"Ok. You know I always have time for you." He put down his pen. "This sounds serious though. What is it?"

"Yesterday you told me you felt like you had lost your mojo. Why?" She asked.

"Why what?" He asked.

"Why do you feel that way?" She elaborated on her question.

He sighed. "Do we have to talk about it again right now?"

"Well we really didn't finish talking about it last night. We got distracted and then I figured since it was your birthday I would drop it for the time being. But it's no longer your birthday and we should finish this conversation." She explained. "Please Harvey?"

"Ok." He got up and walked over so he was closer to her. "The truth is I feel like I have changed a lot in the past couple of years."

"Well that's because you have." She acknowledged. "So have I. That's what happens over the course of time. People change."

"But over the past couple of months, I've realized that I feel like I've changed too much."

"How so?" She wasn't sure she liked where this conversation was headed.

"I feel like I've lost some of that Harvey Specter swagger I used to have." He admitted.

"But you still have that." She protested.

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't. The point is, I don't feel it anymore." He pointed out. "My life has changed a lot since I met you. And it's changed for the better, don't get me wrong. I love our life together. But I don't feel like my old self anymore at work. I try to rush through my work sometimes. I haven't gone after many new clients lately because I don't want the extra work. Winning at all costs doesn't seem to matter. I'm just not laser-focused on work anymore. All I really want to do is spend as much time with you as I can, but even that doesn't work out most of the time because you are highly dedicated to your job."

She was quiet for a moment, contemplating what he just told her. While a part of her wanted to be offended and hurt by his statements, she realized that wouldn't do either of them any good. He was entitled to his feelings, just like she was entitled to think he was wrong.

"You mean you think I'm a workaholic?" She corrected him.

"Well…you do spend a hell of a lot of time here." He pointed out.

"I'm not going to apologize for working hard and being ambitious." She told him softly.

"I'm not asking you to." He assured her.

"Ok." She sighed. She was well-aware of the fact that she worked harder than most of the other senior partners in the firm. But she also thought she did a good job of ensuring she spent enough quality time with Harvey. Apparently that wasn't the case though.

"Neither of us are the same as we were before we met." She explained. "Right now I'm more of a workaholic than you. And that's ok. At some point it will change and you will become the workaholic again. That's just the way life is. Maybe we just need to consciously make more time for each other. We can work on that together. But as for your confidence level…you still have that same Specter swagger."

"So why doesn't it feel like it?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I don't know." She shrugged going over and putting her arms around him. "But trust me…you are still the same kick-ass lawyer you've always been. What will it take to help you get your groove back?"

"If I knew, I would already have my groove back." He laughed.

An idea came to her. "How about you help me out with my Holder Appliances case?"

"That's the copyright infringement case, right?"

"That's right." She nodded. "I haven't been able to find proof that DeVega stole my clients' technology. But maybe the great Harvey Specter can use his mojo to find me the smoking gun?"

He smirked. "I know what you're doing."

"What am I doing?" She asked.

"You're trying to give me a case that is easy to try and build my confidence back up."

"No. That's not it at all." She shook her head. "I'm inviting you onto a case that I can't crack because I know you will be able to do it. If it helps you realize you're still a bad-ass, then that's just the cherry on top of the sundae."

"I don't know…"

"Please?" She asked. "I'm running out of time and I haven't gotten anywhere."

"Get me the files and I'll do what I can." He told her.

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek and was going to leave when he grabbed on to her arm and spun her back to him.

"Thank you." He told her.

"For what?"

"For being there for me and believing in me."

"I'll always believe in you." She told him with a smile. "And I'll always be there for you. It is part of being a team, remember?"

"Oh I remember that well." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.


	6. Chapter 6

Skyfall

Chapter Six

A few days later, the elevator doors opened and Harvey let Rebecca get out first before catching up to her so they could walk in sync with each other.

"So with the DeVega meeting today…how do you want to play it this time?" She asked. "Good cop/bad cop? Bad cop/worse cop?"

He laughed. Although they had worked on several cases together before, they agreed last night to make sure that they work on at least one or two cases together every month just to keep things interesting and spend some extra time together. This case was for her client, Holder Appliances, who filed a copyright infringement suit against DeVega Industries.

It turned out to be a fairly straightforward case once he figured out what pressure point he had to push on to get the evidence they needed. Now that he got the proof they stole the technology, they were both going to DeVega Industries today to get them to settle.

He hated to admit it, but she was right to bring him in on this case. Between finally figuring out how to win the Dorsey lawsuit and this, it was just what he needed to feel like he had his mojo again. Plus as an added bonus they got to spend more time together working on the case.

"How about good cop/bad cop today?" He suggested as they walked down the hallway of the office together.

"That works." She looked over at him and smirked. "Can I be the bad cop?"

"How about I'm the bad cop in the meeting and you get to be bad cop tonight?" He smirked back at her.

She stopped in front of her office and pulled him inside. Then she leaned in and whispered. "No. I don't think I'll be bad cop tonight because I don't think you could handle me being a bad cop again. Remember the last time? You got very annoyed because I wouldn't take the handcuffs off you. It almost ruined all my fun."

"Can I help it if I just have this compulsion to touch your body every chance I get?" He whispered back, putting his hand on the small of her back.

"There's nothing wrong with it." She laughed. "It's actually encouraged in most situations. But at the time you were a bad boy and had to be punished."

He stared at her, reminding himself that they were still in the office and they couldn't do what he wanted to do right now. "This conversation needs to end now unless you want to join me in the file room."

Occasionally they would lock themselves in the file room for fifteen minutes. He looked at her face to see is this was one of those times but was disappointed when she shook her head.

"Sorry." She gave him a quick kiss. "I have too much work to do right now."

"Fine." He pretended to pout. "Don't forget the meeting is at 3:30."

"I'll be ready to leave by 3 so we aren't late." She told him. "And I'll be fully prepared to be the good cop."

He gave her a quick kiss. "You're the best."

"I know." She winked at him before he left to go back to his office.

* * *

"So, this must be important for two Pearson Specter Litt lawyers to show up." Antonio DeVega smirked as they walked into the meeting.

"We take this lawsuit seriously." Rebecca told him, sitting down across from him at the table in the conference room.

"So that means you should too." Harvey chimed in.

"Look, before you start saying anything…I didn't steal anything from your client. My technology is the result of years of research." Antonio stated confidently.

"So we are supposed to believe that you just happened to figure out the exact same technology as our client and were able to rush it to market ahead of our clients' product all on your own without even a little bit of help?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, because that's exactly what I'm saying happened." Antonio replied with a smirk on his face.

"I don't want to believe that you would lie to me." Rebecca sighed. "I like to believe there is good in everyone."

"But I believe that is complete bullshit because everybody lies. You in particular are lying right now." Harvey added without missing a beat. "And we have the proof to back it up." He slid a folder towards Antonio. "We have memos that detail how you stole proprietary information from our client."

"How did you get these?" Antonio asked, flipping through the papers.

"It's not important." Harvey shrugged. "What is important is that our case is a slam dunk. So you could go to court and lose magnificently to the point where our client will actually end up owning your entire company…or you could settle and sign this right now." He slid another folder towards Antonio.

"This is a lot of money." Antonio sighed.

"And you are signing away any and all rights to the technology you stole, as well as pulling all product from the shelf." Harvey pointed out. "I don't want you to miss that part too."

"That's not fair." Antonio claimed.

"Neither is stealing someone else's hard work and then passing it off as your own." Harvey informed him. "So unless you want to roll the dice and pray for a miracle in court, you should just sign it now."

"If I were you, I'd listen to him." Rebecca added. "You don't really want to go against him in court. He'll destroy you and your company. I've seen it happen. Settling now will at least keep your company in your hands."

Antonio scowled at both of them and then released a deep sigh before taking out his pen and signing it. "Fine. Here you go." He threw the signed settlement back across the table.

Rebecca picked it up and put it into her purse. "For what it's worth, I think you made the right decision."

"Really?" Harvey chuckled. "I kind of wish he would have let me tear him apart in court."

"C'mon." She looked over at Harvey. "Let's let Mr. DeVega sulk in private."

When the door to the elevator closed and they were alone, Harvey leaned in for a quick kiss. "Another one bites the dust."

"We make a pretty good team." She told him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I wholeheartedly agree. We need to do this more often." He chuckled. "Nice job in there."

"Thank you." She smiled. "I couldn't have done it without you managing to find the employee willing to whistle-blow on her boss. But you got the fun job of being bad cop in this meeting. Sooner or later you'll have to let me be bad cop."

"Someday I will." He promised, giving her one more kiss before the elevator reached the lobby. "Thank you for this. It felt good to stick it to him like that."

"I'm just glad it helped." She told him.

"Can we play hooky for the rest of the day and just have Ray take us home?"

"No. I still have work to do." She chuckled and shook her head. "Besides, did you forget that we are having dinner with Donna and her boyfriend tonight?"

"Oh yeah…" Harvey scoffed. "What's his name? Charlie?"

"Charles." Rebecca corrected him as they walked through the lobby to get out to Ray. "And she likes him so you better be nice."

"I'll be nice." He promised. "How long have they been dating?"

"Eight months." She answered.

"And she is just now introducing us to him?" He laughed.

"She is just being cautious and making sure she really likes him before introducing him to people." Rebecca explained.

"Or there is something horribly wrong with him and she is embarrassed by him." Harvey laughed again.

She elbowed him in the gut softly. "That's the kind of thing you can't do tonight."

"Ok." He chuckled. "I'll be on my best behavior. But can I just point out that I was romantically-challenged when we got together and even I didn't wait eight months to introduce you to everyone."

She laughed. "Do you want an award for that?"

"It would be nice." He smirked.

She stopped him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "There you go."

"Much better."

* * *

"It's nice that we can all get together like this." Rebecca smiled at everyone after they ordered. She looked over at Donna, who looked nervous. "Charles, Donna has told me some things about you but I don't feel like I know you very well yet."

"I'll be happy to answer any questions you have." Charles spoke up. "But for what it is worth, I've heard all about you two. Donna is always going on about her family at work, especially you two."

"How much has she told you about us?" Harvey asked, sipping his scotch.

"I know enough to know that this isn't a simple, ordinary dinner. It's a way for you to judge if I am worthy enough to be dating Donna, and I respect that. She's not your ordinary woman and she deserves someone who sees, respects and admires that about her." Charles replied.

"And you believe you are that someone?" Harvey questioned.

"I believe I am if that's what she wants." Charles grabbed a hold of Donna's hand and smiled at her.

"Ok." Rebecca interjected, touching his shoulder. "That's enough now Harvey."

"No, it's alright." Charles assured everyone at the table. "Let's face it. Donna is a catch. Any guy would be lucky to have her. So I can understand your desire to protect her from jerks. But I am not a jerk."

"We'll see." Harvey chuckled.

"Time will tell you that I'm right and you'll have to eat your words." Charles smiled.

"I look forward to it." Harvey raised his glass to Charles and they toasted with their glasses.

Rebecca exchanged an amused glance with Donna.

"So what is it you do, Charles?" Harvey asked.

"I work for an intelligence firm." He replied.

Rebecca saw Harvey's eyes narrow as he looked over at Donna. She knew that Charles' career was going to be an issue for him. Truthfully, she wasn't thrilled about Donna dating someone whose sole job was to investigate people since they were all hiding Mike's secret. But Donna was a grown woman and she trusted her friend not to let the secret spill.

"Very interesting." Harvey nodded.

"It's actually quite boring most of the time." Charles laughed. "But I wanted a change of pace after being in the FBI."

"The FBI?" Harvey scoffed. "Wow."

She put her hand on Harvey's leg underneath the table and gave it a hard squeeze to let him know that he needed to drop it and move on.

"How did you two meet?" Harvey asked.

"It's actually a funny story." Donna answered with a nervous smile on her face.

* * *

"What was that all about at dinner?" Rebecca asked as they got ready to go to bed that night.

"What do you mean?" Harvey asked, taking off his watch. He then went over and slowly slid the zipper of her dress down, placing a few soft kisses on the top part of her spine.

"I mean, you said you were going to be on your best behavior with Charles and it felt like you were about ready to challenge him to a duel of pistols at dawn." She said, slipping out of her dress and turning around to face him. She then slid his jacket off of him before unbuttoning his vest.

"I just wanted to make sure Donna isn't with a complete tool." He pointed out. "And I was on my best behavior."

"Is that why she hasn't had you meet any of her past couple of boyfriends?" She asked. "Have you done that kind of thing before?"

He shrugged off his vest as she loosened his tie. "Possibly."

"You still could have been nicer." She lightly chided him.

"But then I wouldn't have found out what I found out about him." He wasn't surprised that she already had both his tie off and his shirt unbuttoned. She had gotten very quick at it over the past couple of years.

"Which is?" Rebecca asked as she got to work on his belt.

"He's crazy about her." Harvey smirked. "I don't think we have to worry too much about him treating her badly."

"And you got all of that from your little exchange with him?" She asked.

"Yes." He nodded. "But the fact that he was an FBI agent and investigates people for a living…I won't lie. It makes me nervous."

"I know." She nodded. "I wasn't thrilled when Donna told me that either. But we have to trust her. She wouldn't say or do anything to jeopardize Mike's secret."

"I know." He acknowledged.

"Besides, he seems to make her very happy." She pointed out, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them down.

He nodded, his breathing hitching slightly as her hand slowly grazed him. Then she pressed herself up against him. "Do we have to keep talking about Donna and her boyfriend?"

"I actually don't want to talk about anything right now." She grinned. "I think there are much better things we can use our mouths for than talking."

"I think I can make that a reality." He promised, picking her up and gently throwing her onto the bed.

She giggled as she flopped onto the bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Skyfall

Chapter Seven

A week later, Rebecca came back in from the balcony and sat on the other side of the couch. She watched as Harvey was writing something down for a deposition. "So guess what Katie was calling about?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Did Marcus do something crazy?"

"No." She chuckled. "Well kind of I guess. She's pregnant again."

"Really?" He looked over at her and smiled. "Well that's great. Were they trying to have another kid though?"

"No." She shook her head. "It was a complete surprise to her. I guess she plans on telling Marcus tomorrow night with a special dinner. So please, if you talk to him before then…don't tell him."

"I don't think I will talk to him before tomorrow. But if for some reason it happens, I won't say a word." He promised.

"Thank you." She continued to stare at him.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" He chuckled.

"You know…we haven't talked about kids in a while…"

"No, we haven't." He nodded.

"Should we?" She asked hesitantly.

"Should we what?"

"Should we talk about kids again?"

"Yeah. I guess we can if you want." He replied, putting his papers down on the coffee table and focusing on her.

"I'd like to."

"You still want kids, right?"

"Yeah. I still do." She nodded. "But what about you? Both of us need to want kids in order for it to work."

"You're obviously much better with kids than I am." He admitted. "I'm too awkward around them. Laura, James, Olivia, and Ethan…they all like you a lot more than they like me."

"It's not a popularity contest." She pointed out. "And those are different situations. They aren't ours. If we had one of our own, I'm sure they would like you more because you'd probably end up being the fun one. They always like the fun one more."

"I don't know about that." He argued.

"So are you pro-kid or anti-kid?" She asked after a pause.

"I'm not either. I'm ambivalent." He shrugged with a chuckle.

"Can I tell you what I think?" She asked quietly.

"Of course."

"I think you are still worried about our relationship changing. Am I right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I do worry about that."

She scooted closer to him. "If we have a kid, I'm not going to lie to you. Our relationship will change. We won't be able to do some of the things we do right now, like have sex in the kitchen anytime we want without having to be mindful of where our kid is at that time. It will be stressful and it will be hard to balance work and family, but it will also be one of the most rewarding things we could ever do with our lives."

She paused for a moment. "I really think we could be good parents together. But we both have to want it in order for it to work."

"I'm not sure I want it." He confessed quietly.

She took a deep breath. That wasn't what she expected him to say and to be honest it broke her heart. "You're not sure you want kids now or you're not sure you want kids at all?"

"I'm not sure I want kids." He repeated himself. "I…"

"Harvey, we aren't getting any younger." She interrupted him, standing up and walking over to the window. "I'm not getting any younger. My window of time to get pregnant and have a healthy child is going to close sooner rather than later. I'm not saying we need to have a kid right now, but it's something we need to consider and try to plan for…if it's going to happen."

She turned around to face him. "But it's not going to happen though, is it?"

"I didn't say I never want kids." He told her, standing up and walking towards her.

She looked at his face and recognized the look. She had seen it plenty of times before. It was the look he had when he tried to placate his clients. There was no way he planned on changing his mind. She bit her lip and then put on a fake smile. "Ok. Let's just pause on this conversation for a while then."

He pulled her into his arms.

She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Are we ok?" He asked softly.

"We're fine." She answered back just as softly. She knew it wasn't right to lie to him, but at this moment she didn't want to talk about it anymore. He apparently didn't want to have kids, so she needed to find a way to be ok with that.

* * *

"You ok?" Donna asked, standing in the doorway of her office the next day.

"I'm fine." She shrugged, looking at her friend.

"Really?" Donna chuckled. "You don't look fine to me."

"Well I said I'm fine!" She said in a defensive tone. "So just drop it Donna."

"Well now I'm afraid I can't." She watched as Donna shut the door and took a seat in front of her desk. "What's going on with you today? You've been in a mood ever since you came in."

She knew she had two choices. She could lie and hope against all odds that Donna wouldn't realize it was a lie, or she could tell the truth. While she was tempted to lie, she decided on the truth.

"I'm sorry Donna. Harvey and I had the kids discussion last night and I realized that he's never going to want to have kids with me." She explained.

"Did he say that?" Donna asked.

"He said not now…which is what he has been saying every time we talk about it. But the look on his face when he said it…I know that look. He doesn't want kids, Donna. And I do. So where does that leave us?"

"It leaves you needing to talk to him about this again." Donna told her. "You have to…"

"To what?" She scoffed. "Somehow convince him to have kids with me? Bribe him into saying yes? I shouldn't have to beg my husband to want to have a baby with me. He should want that too."

"But in all fairness you did know he wasn't sold on the idea before you married him…" Donna pointed out.

"I know." She nodded. "I just…I thought maybe he would decide that he did want to have a baby with me. Obviously I was wrong."

"You need to tell him what this is doing to you." Donna advised.

"I know." She gave her friend a small smile. "Thank you Donna."

"Anytime." Donna replied. "So I actually came here to let you know that Jessica wants to see you."

"Great." She laughed. "Ok. I'll go see her now."

"Good luck." Donna called after her.

Rebecca walked down the hallway, stopping outside Jessica's door. She lightly knocked.

"Ah good. Please, come in." Jessica greeted her. "And close the door behind you."

She did what she was told and then walked over to the chair Jessica pointed to for her to sit in across from her desk. "I feel like I was just called down to the principal's office. Am I in some kind of trouble?"

"That depends." Jessica smiled. "Have you done something to get in trouble?"

"Not that I know of." She shook her head.

Jessica chuckled. "You aren't in trouble. I wanted to bring you in because I haven't seen much of you lately."

"I've just been plugging away at my cases and helping Mike since Rachel is still on maternity leave." She explained.

"I know. I have seen your billable hours. Even while helping Mike, they are rather impressive." Jessica nodded. "For the past two quarters you have been the senior partner with the highest billable hours and you have brought in the most new clients."

"Really?" She laughed out of nervousness. That was something she wasn't aware of.

"That's not something I would exaggerate."

"Of course."

Jessica smiled. "So I also wanted to talk to you about what's next for you."

"Ok." She nodded. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Where do you see yourself in the next five years?"

"Do you want the honest answer?" She asked.

"Of course." Jessica nodded.

"Within five years, I'd like to be a name partner. I want my name up on the wall." She knew it was a bold thing to tell the managing partner of the firm that you want your name added onto the letterhead, but it wasn't like she just came in and announced it without preamble. She was asked her goals.

"That's certainly ambitious."

"I realize that."

"Hypothetically, how would that work?" Jessica chuckled. "Pearson Specter Litt Specter? Pearson Specter Specter Litt?"

"No." She laughed. "More like Pearson Specter Litt Monroe. Since I still use Monroe as my professional last name, putting Specter up there twice would just sound weird."

"Indeed it would." Jessica nodded. "What would you say if I told you that you may not have to wait five years to see it happen?"

"What are you saying?" She knew what it sounded like, but she needed to actually hear it from Jessica's mouth.

"I'm saying you have done impressive things here since you came onboard. The pro bono department is flourishing thanks to your influence and you've brought in some very high-profile clients. I wanted to tell you that I'm considering you for name partner. I don't have a timeline in place for making my decision though."

She knew what that meant. If she wanted to make name partner, she needed to do something even more impressive than before. That wasn't daunting at all. "I understand."

"And let's keep this conversation between us for right now."

"Even from Harvey?" She questioned.

"Yes." Jessica nodded. "Especially from Harvey."

That was going to be difficult because Harvey was the person she wanted to tell the most. Jessica was basically telling her that she wanted to make her a name partner. It was the kind of thing that she immediately wanted to tell him about. But if Jessica didn't want her to say anything she must have a good reason.

"Is that alright?" Jessica asked.

"It's fine." She gave her boss a smile. Harvey wouldn't like her keeping something from him, and she wasn't thrilled about it either. But Jessica was her boss and she had to do this for now.

"Wonderful." Jessica smiled back. "So let's see what good things you can accomplish."


	8. Chapter 8

Skyfall

Chapter Eight

Harvey walked into the kitchen, setting down the takeout on the counter. It was his turn to bring home dinner. He looked over at her, seeing she was drinking a glass of wine and typing on the computer. "I hope burgers are ok for dinner tonight."

"Yeah. It's fine." She said, not looking up from her computer.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, approaching her.

"Everything's fine." She assured him, still typing. She only stopped for a moment to look at him and smile.

"You seem distracted tonight."

"Nope. I'm good…just busy."

"Ok." He didn't believe her, but he would let it go for the moment because she didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it. He went over and grabbed the burgers and fries from the bag. He brought her food over to her on a plate. "I got you extra bacon on your burger."

"Thank you." She took the plate and put it on the coffee table before going back to typing.

"What are you working on?"

"I'm putting the final touches on the Richardson merger paperwork." She explained. "I think I'm almost done though. Once I'm done with this I'm done for the night."

"Ok." He went over to his records and picked a Billie Holiday record. After he started the record, he got his food and sat down in the chair across from where she was sitting. He watched as she typed, seemingly laser-focused on the merger document. She wasn't even eating. She did take a moment here and there to sip some wine but that was it.

The more he watched her, the more he was convinced something was wrong. She didn't seem like herself and it hit him that she had been different ever since last night when he said he wasn't ready for kids yet. Even when she was close to him, she still felt like she was miles away.

He knew she wasn't going to be happy about him saying he didn't want kids right now, but he had to be honest with her about his feelings. She said yesterday that they were ok, but he realized they weren't as ok as she said.

Soon he was done with his dinner and saw she hadn't taken a single bite of hers. "You should eat." He said quietly.

"I'm not really that hungry." She told him, not looking up.

"Rebecca…"

"Harvey, I'm almost done with this. Please just let me finish what I'm working on in peace." She asked.

"Ok." He nodded.

It took about another fifteen minutes before she stopped typing and looked up at him.

"There." She smiled. "All done."

"Finally." He smirked. "Now will you eat?"

"I'm sorry but I'm really not hungry right now." She told him. "Please stop pushing me to eat."

"Fine." He nodded, standing up. "How about you dance with me instead?"

He saw her look at him like he was crazy.

"Please?" He asked.

She took a drink of her wine and then stood up, letting him lead her to a clear spot in the living room where they could dance without bumping into things.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, swaying gently to the slow but steady beat of the song.

"What's with the sudden desire to dance?" She asked quietly.

"I can't just want to dance with my wife?" He chuckled. "Do I have to have an ulterior motive?"

"No." She shook her head. "But we don't do this very often. I think we've done this maybe five times?"

"We should do this more often." He smiled.

"I agree."

"How was your day?"

"It was alright. How was your day?"

"It was ok." He shrugged. "It's definitely better now that I have you in my arms." That got a small smile from her. "So do you want to tell me what's bothering you? Or would you like me to guess?" He asked.

"Nothing's bothering me."

"I find that hard to believe. Something's clearly on your mind." He prodded. "Tell me, please?"

She sighed. "Fine. I'm still thinking about our talk from last night."

"I kind of thought that was what was on your mind." He told her. "Do you want to talk about it again?"

"I don't see the point." She shook her head. "I would love to have a mini-Harvey running around, but you don't want to have kids with me."

"I said not right now." He objected.

"That's what you said, but your face said ever."

He scoffed. "You're upset because of what you think my face said?"

"No. I'm upset because I know that's what your face said. I've seen that look before. I know you Harvey."

He sighed. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to be honest and tell me that you don't want to have kids with me!" She exclaimed. "But you hide behind saying 'not right now' when what you really mean is 'I don't want to have kids with you ever'."

"It's not that I don't want to have kids with you. You are the only woman I'd ever want to have kids with. I just…I'm not sure I want them right now. And on top of everything else, you know this isn't the right time to have kids because you work way too much. If we had kids we would both need to cut down on working so many hours. Are you telling me that's something you want to do? Because you aren't willing to work less hours for me so I don't see that changing for a baby." At that moment his cell phone started to ring. He pulled away from her to check it to make sure it wasn't an emergency and saw it was Marcus.

"It's Marcus." He sighed. "Do you mind if I take it real quick?"

"Go ahead." She sighed.

* * *

She couldn't believe he said that to her. She didn't think she was working that hard, and yes she was more focused on work than he was right now. She wouldn't apologize for valuing her career and following through with her ambitions. But she felt like she made a conscious effort to spend quality time with him, especially after he accused her of being a workaholic last week. Apparently he didn't think she had made any progress on that though.

And she could balance work and family. She knew she could. It hurt that he threw her work in her face again and seemed like a double standard. His words stung and she had to remind herself not to lash out. Nothing good would come from them getting into a screaming match about this.

She knew that he wasn't enthusiastic about having kids as she was and she had known about it from the start. But at the end of their talks he always used to say he was willing to revisit the issue and would think about it. If he was certain he wasn't going to want children then he shouldn't have told her that. Either way, the whole thing was a mess.

She watched as he talked to Marcus. She figured that Marcus was calling to tell Harvey the good news about Katie being pregnant and didn't want to make him miss that just because they were arguing. But the look on Harvey's face wasn't a happy one and she grew worried.

"Ok…whoa…Marcus slow down…what happened?…shit…yeah…ok…ok…ok…yeah. Don't worry. We'll be right there…no it's fine. We'll be there." Harvey shoved the phone back into his pocket and looked over at her.

"What's going on?"

"We have to get up to Boston as soon as possible." He told her.

"What? Why?" She asked. He was starting to turn pale and she was even more concerned. "What's going on?"

"When Marcus came home tonight he found Katie in the kitchen. She had been shot." Harvey explained.

"What?" That was the last thing she expected to hear. She thought the next words out of his mouth would be that they needed to get to the hospital. She figured Katie was on her way to surgery or something. But as the seconds went by without him saying that, a sense of dread filled her. "Harvey…she's ok though…right? She'll be ok?"

She watched as he seemed to fumble with the words, which was unlike him. There was only one thing that could make him hesitate like this.

"No. She's gone." He said it quietly. "She didn't make it."

"No." She shook her head, as if that would make things alright again. "No. That's not possible…Harvey…no. There's gotta be some kind of mistake. She can't be dead…the baby…and her kids…Marcus…"

"I'm sorry." He closed the gap between then and gave her a hug.

She felt numb and couldn't even hug him back. Her arms stayed at her side because they felt too heavy to raise. She was like that for a minute or two before she finally snapped out of it and went into crisis mode. She pulled away from him and started to pace.

"Ok…um…Here's what we need to do. I'll pack for us. You call Donna and Jessica. We're going to be gone for the next three to four days. So Donna needs to make sure Mike can cover for us and Jessica needs to know we'll be out of the office. We'll need plane tickets up there on the next available flight, as well as a rental car and a hotel. Donna might be able to help us with that too so you better call her first."

She looked over at him and saw he wasn't moving. "Well what are you waiting for?"

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"For what?" She asked.

"Earlier…before the call…what we were talking about…I shouldn't have…"

"I'm sorry too. But I can't even think about that right now." She interrupted him. "We need to work on getting up to Boston. That's what is important. So make the calls. I'll go pack."

She saw him take out his phone again so she hurried into the bedroom, going straight to the closet to pull out their suitcases. She paused after pulling out her suitcase, sinking to the floor and sobbing.

Now wasn't the time to fall apart though. There would be a better time for that later. So she stood back up. She wiped her cheeks, closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before getting Harvey's suitcase out of the closet.

* * *

Harvey looked down at his right hand, which was holding on to Rebecca's left hand. They were incredibly lucky to make it to Boston on the next flight out. It was a quiet flight for them. Neither knew what to say to the other so they just sat in silence the whole time. She had wrapped her arms around his and put her head on his shoulder. From time to time he would turn to kiss her head.

He looked over at her now in the car, seeing that she was staring aimlessly out the window. He was worried about her. She was extremely close to Katie. Anytime they visited in Boston, the two of them would immediately go off into the kitchen together. He would hear their laughter filter through to the living room and it was always loud enough to be heard over the television and the kids.

He remembered what happened the last time they visited Boston, almost three months ago.

 _He watched as Rebecca rang the doorbell. It didn't take long for Marcus to answer the door._

" _Hey guys." Marcus greeted with a smile._

" _Hey." He greeted back, watching Marcus and Rebecca hug._

" _You look great, Rebecca." Marcus told her._

" _Why thank you." She smiled._

 _Marcus then looked over at him and chuckled. "So why are you still with my loser brother? He's not aging very well and you know you could do better."_

 _Rebecca laughed. "You know why…it's the money."_

 _He knew they were joking because Marcus made the same joke every time he saw them. Rebecca at least had the creativity to come up with a different bullshit reason every time. Some of her reasons were extremely clever and detailed._

" _One of these days you'll stop doing this joke." He told them._

" _Yeah. And that will be a very sad day." Marcus laughed._

" _So where is your better half?" Harvey asked._

" _I'm right here." Katie said, appearing next to Marcus and immediately giving Rebecca a hug. "I've missed you!"_

" _I've missed you too!" Rebecca told her. "Wow you look great. Those five pounds you lost this month are really noticeable in a good way."_

" _Thank you!" Katie smiled. "I think I'm only going to try for a few more pounds, or maybe just work on muscle mass."_

" _Well whatever you're doing is working." Rebecca smiled back. "Where are the kids?"_

" _They are in the backyard playing. Let's go into the kitchen. I'll pour you a glass of wine and we can talk freely." Katie suggested, looking at him and then Marcus._

" _That means they want to talk about us." Marcus whispered to him._

" _I figured as much." He laughed, watching as Rebecca went off with Katie to the kitchen, whispering and giggling the whole way._

" _I'm starting to think that Rebecca married you so she could be sisters with Katie." Marcus laughed._

" _It wouldn't surprise me if that was one of the reasons." He joked back._

They seemed to call or text each other all the time and he knew that she was going to take Katie's death hard.

She still hadn't fallen apart yet. He remembered how she fell apart when her father died, and he was a guy she didn't have a good relationship with. He could only imagine what her breakdown over Katie's death would be like.

They were sitting at a red light so he squeezed her hand lightly. It caused her to look over at him and give him a small smile.

"I think we are almost there." He told her. They were on their way to his mom's house. That's where Marcus and the kids were. If he had his way, he would never step foot inside his mom's house. But Marcus needed him so he would put aside his feelings for the woman and do what was necessary.

"Are you going to be ok with seeing your mom again?" She asked in quiet voice. "I know it has been a long time."

He appreciated the fact that even though she was going through a lot she still wanted to check in with him. "I'll be fine. I'm honestly more worried about you."

"I'll be fine." She told him, echoing his words before going back to staring out the window.

The light turned green and he continued driving down the streets of Boston. About five minutes later they pulled up into his mom's driveway. He turned off the car and got out, walking over to her side of the car so he could hold her hand as they walked to the front door.

He knocked, careful not to knock too loudly. It was the middle of the night and he didn't want to wake up the kids. It didn't take long for the door to open. There in the doorway was his mom. He had to admit she looked like a mess, but it was understandable considering the circumstances.

"Harvey…" Lily reached over to hug him.

He stepped back out of her reach.

"I'm sorry for the reason you are here, but I can't deny it is good to see you." Lily smiled. "It's been far too long."

"Where is Marcus?" He asked, ignoring her comment.

"He's out in the backyard." Lily motioned to behind her. "It's just past the kitchen."

He wasted no time pushing past his mom to head out towards his brother.

* * *

Rebecca took a look at Lily and felt bad for her. She obviously just wanted to be able to hug her son, which wasn't an unreasonable request given what was going on. But Harvey didn't want anything to do with her.

"Well this is awkward, isn't it?" Harvey didn't introduce them and although she recognized the woman from pictures she saw in Katie and Marcus' house, she had never met this woman. Now she was here on one of the worst days of Lily's life.

"It doesn't have to be." Lily gave her a kind smile. "I must say you are prettier in person than in Katie's pictures."

"That's kind of you to say." She smiled back.

"Come in dear. You don't have to stay out on the porch all night. After all, you are family." Lily motioned for her to come inside and then led her to the living room so they could sit on the couch.

"How are you doing?" She asked the older woman.

"It's still surreal." Lily answered. "I can't believe this is happening."

"I know what you mean." She agreed.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm having trouble believing this is real too. It's like a nightmare." She admitted. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened? Marcus obviously didn't go into much detail on the phone with Harvey."

"Katie brought the kids over after lunch because she was going to make a special dinner for Marcus. She was going to tell him about the baby. The next thing I know, Marcus is calling me telling me he came home and found her in the kitchen. Someone had shot her and she was dead. I guess it looks like a robbery gone bad." Lily explained.

"Do the kids know yet?"

"No." She shook her head. "We thought it would be best to tell them in the morning. Let them get one more good nights' sleep before we make their world come crumbling down around them."

"Yeah. They deserve that since everything will change for them tomorrow."

"You have some experience in that if I'm not mistaken." Lily said quietly. "Katie talked about you constantly. She told me about your mother."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I was only a year younger than Ethan is right now when I lost her."

"I imagine it is hard at any age." Lily stated.

"It is." She nodded.

"I know this is the first time we've met, but I have to tell you that I feel like I already know you. Katie was always telling me things about you. She loved having you in the family."

"I loved having her in my family too." She smiled. "I finally felt like I had a real sister."

"She always said the same thing." Lily nodded.

* * *

Harvey stood in the backyard, staring at his brother. Marcus was sitting in one of the swings on the playground with his back to him. On the ground next to him was a six pack of beer. Four of them looked empty already. He took a deep breath and walked over to the empty swing, sitting down.

"You actually came." Marcus scoffed.

"Of course I did." Harvey told him. "I told you I would. Marcus, you're my brother and you needed me. Where else would I be?"

"I just thought because of mom you might…"

"Mom doesn't matter right now." He cut Marcus off. "I'm here for you and I'm here for the kids too. So why don't you tell me exactly what happened?"

"I came home and called out to her. But she didn't answer. We had this routine where I would yell out 'honey I'm home' and she would call back 'it's about time'. When I didn't hear her, I started to get nervous. I got to the kitchen I found her on the floor by the sink in a pool of her own blood. There was just so much blood there Harvey…It was everywhere. There were also footprints leading out the open back door. I called 911 and tried…but she was already dead when I got there."

"Marcus, I'm so sorry." He didn't know what else to say to his brother. This was a nightmare and he could only imagine how it felt for him to lose Katie like that.

"I was supposed to be home about an hour earlier." Marcus continued. "She wanted me home at 6. I didn't get there until after 7 because I was finishing up some things at the restaurant. But I should have been at home. If I had been there…I could have…maybe she wouldn't…"

Harvey stood up and pulled Marcus up into a hug. "It's not your fault and you can't think about the what-ifs."

"She's gone, Harvey." Marcus sobbed. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"It's going to be ok." Harvey told him.


	9. Chapter 9

Skyfall

Chapter Nine

Rebecca woke up to tiny fingers poking her shoulder. It took her a moment to remember that she and Harvey decided to sleep on the couch instead of driving back to their hotel last night since it was so late. She opened her eyes and saw Olivia and Ethan staring at her.

"Hey guys." She greeted quietly in the hopes of not waking Harvey up. She reluctantly disentangled herself from Harvey's grasp and led the kids into the kitchen.

"What are you and Uncle Harvey doing here?" Ethan asked.

"We missed you guys and thought we would come up for a visit." She answered. It was only a partial lie. She could see that Olivia bought the lie because she was only six. Ethan, being eleven, just kept looking at her strangely.

"We missed you too!" Olivia smiled, giving her a hug.

She picked Olivia up and gave her a big hug. Then she sat the girl down on a stool at the kitchen island next to where Ethan was sitting. She then gave Ethan a hug.

"So what would you two like for breakfast?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"Pancakes!" Olivia spoke up.

"Ok." Rebecca agreed. "Ethan, is that ok with you?"

"I guess." He nodded.

"With chocolate chips please!" Olivia added.

"How about I make you a deal?" Rebecca told her niece. "If you can tell me where your grandma keeps the chocolate chips, I will make them. Ok?"

"Ok!" Olivia pointed to the cabinet next to the stove.

She opened the cabinet door and immediately saw the chocolate chips. "Ok. Looks like we are having chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Who wants to help me make them?"

"I do!" Oliva jumped out of her seat.

"Do you want to help Ethan?" She asked, looking over at the boy.

"Nah." He shook his head. "Let Olivia help you."

"Ok." She nodded. She felt bad for Olivia and Ethan. Maybe that was why she gave in so quickly about chocolate chip pancakes. She remembered how it felt when her dad told her about her mom's death. Of course he wasn't kind about it.

He woke her up the next morning, gave her the fake suicide note and told her that her mom was dead and never coming back. There was no hug, no reassuring words or anything like that. Just a cold announcement from a cold hearted man. She was determined to make sure that didn't happen this time.

* * *

Harvey stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching as Rebecca made breakfast with Olivia. She was being very patient because Olivia kept making a mess with the pancake batter. But Rebecca would just laugh it off and try to show her a better way to do it. She really seemed like she was made to be a mom. Could he be a father though? He shook that thought from his head. Now wasn't the time to think about it.

He looked over at Ethan and saw that he was just sitting there looking bored.

"For what it's worth, I like Rebecca." Lily said quietly, coming up to stand next to him. "I think you chose well."

"It's not worth anything." He sighed, not looking over at his mother. "But I do agree. I got incredibly lucky finding her. By some miracle she puts up with me."

"Harvey, how long are you going to punish me for something that happened twenty years ago?" She sighed.

"I'm not punishing you." He told her. "I just don't care to have you in my life. That's all, and I'm not having this conversation with you." He took a deep breath and entered the kitchen. "Good morning."

He watched as Rebecca turned and smiled at him. Olivia dropped what she was doing and ran over to hug his leg. He laughed and picked her up to give her a proper hug.

"Hi Uncle Harvey." Olivia said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"How is my favorite niece?" He asked.

"I'm good. Aunt Becca is making chocolate chip pancakes and I'm helping!"

"Those sounds delicious." He winked at her. "I'll let you get back to helping her." He promptly put her back down on the floor and she hurried back over to Rebecca's side. So then he went over and sat next to Ethan. "And how is my favorite nephew?"

"I'm your only nephew." Ethan pointed out.

"Well that is true but it still doesn't mean you can't be my favorite." Harvey argued.

"Why are you and Aunt Becca here?" He questioned. "You guys have never been in the same room as Grandma before. Why now all of a sudden?"

"It's like I said earlier." Rebecca interjected before putting a plate of pancakes in front of him. "We missed you guys."

Harvey got up from his seat so Olivia could sit there now that her breakfast was ready. He walked over to Rebecca and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I made some coffee." She told him.

"Good." He chuckled. "I need some desperately."

"Where is Marcus?" She asked quietly so that the kids wouldn't hear her.

"He decided to sleep in his car last night." Harvey answered just as quietly. "I think he will be in here soon to talk to them."

She grabbed a hold of his free hand and gave it a squeeze.

* * *

Rebecca started doing the dishes after the kids were done eating. A few minutes ago the kids went into the living room with Harvey to watch some television. She looked over and saw Lily come stand by her.

"You don't have to do the dishes." Lily told her.

"I don't mind." She shrugged. "I created the dishes making breakfast so I should clean up your kitchen. It's only fair. Besides, it gives me something to do with the nervous energy I have. When I get this anxious, I like to clean."

"I understand completely. I'm the same way." Lily chuckled softly, grabbing a towel to help dry.

A few minutes later they heard the front door open and exchanged nervous glances as they heard Olivia cry out enthusiastically to her dad.

It was only moments later that Olivia came barreling through the kitchen and out to the backyard. Ethan followed behind, but he was walking at a much slower pace. Her heart broke for them because she knew what they were going to feel once they found out about their mom. Marcus came in last after Ethan was already outside.

She took a good look at her brother in law. He looked like a total mess but that was understandable. She hurried over and gave him a quick hug. "Anything you need…let me know." She whispered.

"Thanks Rebecca." He said before going out to the backyard.

She tried not to be nosy and tried not to watch through the window as Marcus told his kids about Katie's death. But she couldn't help watching as he explained everything. Neither could Lily so they both stood at the window.

Olivia latched on to him immediately, hugging him tightly. She watched as Marcus tried to bring Ethan in for a hug too, but Ethan turned away, choosing instead to come back inside.

"Ethan…" Lily called out. He just kept walking past them, heading upstairs.

She looked over at Lily, then at Harvey who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "Let me try to talk to him."

She went upstairs and had to guess which room was the one the kids were staying in. The second door she opened was the right one. She saw Ethan sitting on the side of his bed, staring at the ground.

She slowly approached the bed and sat next to him. "Hey."

"I knew there was something wrong." He said, not looking over at her. "Why did you tell me what was going on?"

"I know you did." She nodded. "And we would have told you but your dad wanted to be the one to tell you what happened."

"So she's really dead?"

"I'm afraid so."

"It's not fair." He whispered, starting to cry.

"No. It really isn't." She put her arm around him and pulled him closer to her. "Can I tell you something personal about myself?"

"I guess."

"When I was a little younger than you, I lost my mom in a car accident." She explained. "I was so mad at the world and so confused about why I had to lose my mom. It didn't make any sense to me and I was so sad about it for a long time."

"Did you ever stop being sad?"

"I did. I mean, I still miss her a lot. That never goes away. But I realized she wouldn't want me stay sad for the rest of my life. She would want me to find a way to move on. You don't have to forget her, I don't mean to make it sound like that because you'll never forget her. I just mean that you are incredibly lucky because you have something that I didn't have when I lost my mom."

"What's that?" He asked.

"You have a dad who loves you more than I think he could ever possibly express. You have a little sister who absolutely idolizes you. You have a grandmother who thinks you are the greatest thing since sliced bread. You have your Uncle Harvey, who I know adores you. And you have me. You have a whole group of people who love you and are going to do whatever we can to help you, your sister and your dad get through this." She explained.

"I'm just really sad."

"I know sweetie." She kissed the top of his head. "I'm sad about it too. Your mom was the greatest and you're going to be sad for a while. We all will. But you're going to be ok. I promise you that. And even after Uncle Harvey and I go back to New York, you can call us anytime you need to because we are here for you. And we can talk about anything you want. Alright?"

"Yeah." He wrapped his arms around her to hug her. "Thanks Aunt Becca."

"Do you want to stay up here or go back downstairs?"

"Can we just stay up here for a little bit longer?" He asked.

"Of course."

* * *

When she came downstairs with Ethan later, he ran right into the living room and hugged his dad. She smiled and went into the kitchen. Lily was sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Where's Harvey?"

"He's in the backyard on the phone." Lily answered. "How did you get Ethan to come downstairs?"

"I just told him the truth. He's an incredibly lucky kid who has a whole group of adults who love him." She explained. "I'm going to go check on Harvey."

She made her way outside as Harvey was shoving his phone back into his pocket. "What did Donna have to say about how things are going back home?" She asked as she stood next to him.

"How did you know I was talking to Donna?" He looked over and smirked.

"Because you're getting predictable in your older age." She laughed, looking at him.

He leaned in and kissed her. "Did you predict that?"

"Actually, yes I did." She smirked, grabbing a hold of his hand and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Donna says everything is fine and I don't need to call and check on things again. Mike is handling everything for us, and if he needs help Louis agreed to step in and catch whatever Mike doesn't have time to get to." He explained.

"We're lucky to have such great friends."

"I know." He nodded. "Did you get Ethan to come downstairs?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"I knew you would."

"Do you think we should go to our hotel for a little bit? Let Marcus have some time alone with the kids? We could freshen up and then come back in a couple of hours." She suggested.

"Yeah. We should probably do that." He agreed.


	10. Chapter 10

Skyfall

Chapter Ten

Harvey unlocked the door to the hotel room and let Rebecca go in first. He brought their bags in and watched as she fell face first onto the bed.

He chuckled softly. "Tired?"

"Exhausted." Came her voice, muffled by the fact her head was buried in the sheets. "Between talking to your mom until the early morning and getting awakened by the kids earlier than I would have liked, I'm beat."

"Me too." He admitted, laying on the bed next to her. As soon as he did, she turned and curled up next to him like he was a magnet. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I was really hoping when I woke up this would be a bad nightmare." She told him in a quiet voice.

"Me too."

"So you spent a lot of time with him last night. How is Marcus doing?"

"He's devastated." He answered. "I think having to walk in on that scene and see that scene is going to haunt him for the rest of his life."

"It probably is unfortunately." She agreed. Then she propped her arms up so she could look at him. "Hey…I know we were in the middle of an argument last night, but you know how much I love you, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Of course I know."

"And you know that I don't ever want to be without you, right?"

He smiled at her. "I know that too."

"Good." She smiled back at him before reaching up and kissing him. Then she laid her head back down on his chest.

"You know I feel the same way about you, right?" He asked a moment later.

"I know." She replied.

"I was actually thinking about it after Marcus explained what happened with Katie and all I could keep thinking was that I honestly don't know how I would pick myself up and move on without you if I was in Marcus' position. I don't know how you did it because I swore I would never be one of those guys…but you mean everything to me. Not to get too mushy or anything, but I'd never be able to go back to the life I had before you. It would drive me crazy. You're my best friend and my favorite teammate."

He was quiet for a moment, expecting her to say something. "Rebecca?"

It was then that he realized she had already fallen asleep. With a soft chuckle, he sat an alarm on his phone and then closed his eyes to get a nap as well.

* * *

After freshening up at the hotel, Harvey was driving them back to his mom's house. "So you and my mom seem to be getting along pretty well." They were at a red light so he looked over at her and saw she was now looking at him.

"Yeah. She's a nice lady and I like her." She asked. "Why? Does that bother you?"

"Honestly, yes." He answered. "It does bother me."

"So just because you have your issues with her, I have to have issues with her?" She questioned with a chuckle. "Is that how you think this is supposed to work?"

"Well…yeah. I mean, are you Team Harvey or Team Lily? Because you sure seem like you are on her side."

"Harvey you should know by now I'm always going to be on your team. Like I've told you before though, being on your team doesn't mean I turn a blind eye to when you are wrong." She rolled her eyes. "That woman has lost someone she considered to be a daughter. I'm not going to do what you are doing to her and completely freeze her out. It would be cruel."

"So now you're saying I'm being cruel to her?" He asked as the light turned green and he continued driving.

"I'm saying you could afford to show her some compassion." She explained. "She loved Katie too and she is also hurting right now."

"As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't exist in my life and I don't see why I should have to pretend that things are fine between us just because Katie is dead."

"Then to answer your earlier question, yes. I do think you are being cruel to her."

"I can't believe you would say that to me. You know what she did." He was getting angrier and angrier with her as the moments passed by.

"I know all about what she did and how it made it you feel." She told him. "But I also know that was a long time ago. At some point, don't you think you should try and make peace with her?"

"Kind of like you made peace with your father?"

She scoffed. "That was a totally different situation."

"Sure as shit sounds the same to me. He hurt you, lied to you and made you feel like crap your entire life. So did my mom. But I didn't see you forgive him. Hell, you wanted to turn him in to the police before he died."

"He killed my mom!" She pointed out. "I'm sorry but that is way more serious than asking you to lie to your dad. So it was a more complicated situation."

He looked over at her and saw that she was getting angry.

"You know, Harvey, at some point you need to grow the hell up and realize that while she was wrong to do what she did, you were just as wrong to shut her out of your life for the past two decades. You're not completely blameless in this situation either so stop playing the role of innocent victim."

"I have been just fine without her in my life so far. I don't need her and I don't need you telling me that I need her or that I've been wrong."

"Fine." She sighed. "I'll just stop talking about it if that's what you want. And I'm sorry if bothers you but I actually happen to like your mom and I plan on letting her into my life. So you'll just have to grow up and deal with it."

"Fine." He grumbled. They were silent as he drove the rest of the way to his mom's house.

There was a chance he was overreacting. He knew that she wasn't trying to make him mad and she was on his side. But being back here and seeing his mom while also trying to deal with Katie's death…it was almost too much. He also shouldn't have thrown her father in her face. That wasn't fair.

He had been doing so well not lashing out and saying hurtful things like that when he was mad. Now he felt like he took two steps backwards.

He pulled up to his mom's house and saw Rebecca was about ready to get out of the car. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Wait."

She stopped and sighed before turning to face him. "I don't have it in me to go another couple rounds with you on this. Can we please not fight?"

"I don't want to fight with you either. We need to be supporting each other and not tearing each other apart." He told her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I'm sorry too." She leaned over to kiss him. "It's not fair for me to simply tell you that I want to let your mom into my life. I should run that past you first."

"It's fine, I guess." He shrugged. "Just don't go inviting her over while I'm around."

"Deal." She gave him another kiss.

* * *

Later that evening, Rebecca sat in the kitchen having a glass of wine with Lily. They had agreed to take over the planning of the funeral for Marcus so it was one less thing for him to worry about. It had taken most of the afternoon, but they had everything set up for the funeral to be the day after tomorrow.

By then the police would be done with the autopsy and would release the body to the funeral home. The police investigation hadn't turned up any leads yet and she hoped they would be able to catch whoever did this so they could be punished to the full extent of the law.

Marcus had gone back to the house with Harvey to get some more clothes and stuff for the kids because they would be staying at Lily's house for a while. The kids were both asleep.

"I think we are finally done." Lily sighed.

"Yeah. I think so too." She nodded.

"I appreciate your help with this."

"It's not a problem." She assured the older woman. "I'm just sorry I can't do more to help."

"Nonsense. You've been a great help." Lily assured her. "I told Harvey this earlier but I'll also tell you. I think he chose very well when he married you."

"Thank you." She smiled.

"I wasn't sure he was ever going to get married." Lily confessed.

"I don't think he thought he would either." She laughed.

"How did you two end up together?"

"It's a long, complicated story." She sighed. "But the short version is that there were a lot of issues we had to work through first."

"Were his issues caused by my actions when he was younger?" Lily asked.

She didn't know how to answer that without making the woman feel bad.

"The fact that you have to think that hard about your answer leads me to believe that is a yes." Lily sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just…it did impact our relationship." She finally settled on that statement because it seemed like the safest thing she could say. "But to be fair, I had my own issues that impacted our relationship too."

"That's fair of you to say because you could have said I screwed him up very badly and was a horrible mother."

"I don't think you were a horrible mother." She explained. "I think you love your children. But I also think you made some choices that weren't the best and you've been paying a heavy price for them for a long time."

"Harvey doesn't believe that." Lily pointed out. "He doesn't believe that I love him or that I'm sorry about everything that has happened."

"Well Harvey isn't always right, though he thinks he is." She laughed. "Sometimes he needs a little push to realize it."

"That's true." Lily laughed. "He's always been that way."

"What was he like as a kid?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Well he was always extremely confident. Nothing seemed to faze him." Lily explained. "He was also protective of Marcus, even when Marcus was a baby. They were very close growing up. Then they grew apart. It's been nice to see them get their relationship back on track, and I have a feeling that is because of you."

"I don't know about that." She shook her head.

"Katie always said that Harvey took a greater interest in them after he met you. Before you were in his life, he barely contacted Marcus at all." Lily told her. "She believed that you brought out a side of him that was long buried. After seeing him again, I have to agree."

She wasn't sure what to say to that so she just smiled and drank from her wine glass.

"Is there any chance that you and Harvey will have children anytime soon?" Lily asked.

She almost spit out her wine back into the glass and coughed. "Um…"

"I'm sorry." Lily chuckled. "Is that too personal of a question for me to ask?"

"No." She shook her head. "It's fine. I just don't have a good answer for you on that. It's actually something that has become a bit of an issue for us lately."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Lily apologized. "I'm sure you will find a way to work it out though."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Me too."

* * *

Harvey came into Marcus' bedroom with two suitcases. "I think I packed everything that was on the list for the kids. If not, I can come back tomorrow and grab it for you." He looked at Marcus, expecting his brother to be done packing his own suitcase. But Marcus was just sitting on the bed next to an empty suitcase with his head in his hands.

He put the suitcases down and sat next to Marcus on the bed.

"I can't be here, Harvey." Marcus whispered. "I just can't. I see Katie everywhere I look. It hurts too much."

"I know." He patted his brother on the back. "Why don't you take the kids' suitcases to the car and I'll pack up some stuff for you?"

"Thanks."

He watch Marcus get up and take the suitcases. Perhaps it was a bad idea to have Marcus come back here tonight. At the time it seemed like a good idea though. He got off the bed and headed to the closet to start pulling clothes for Marcus. While putting clothes in, he looked around the room.

There were three picture collage frames on the wall that caught his eye. One was for Ethan, one was for Olivia and one was for Marcus and Katie. The ones for Ethan and Olivia had pictures detailing everything from Katie's pregnancies to their most recent school pictures.

The one for Marcus and Katie has pictures from when they started dating, their wedding and just random pictures from their entire relationship. He looked at the pictures and saw how happy they looked. It was just a painful reminder that his sister in law was gone.

He took a moment to sit on the bed and released a heavy sigh. Katie was family. She was a good mother, wife and sister. He would miss her and this whole thing wasn't fair. He knew that he needed to get this done for Marcus so they could leave. So he got back up, pushed his feelings to the side and finished packing.


	11. Chapter 11

Skyfall

Chapter Eleven

Harvey got out of the car and held the door open for Rebecca and his mom to get out. Marcus, Ethan and Olivia were in the car ahead of them as they rode to the church for Katie's funeral.

Being stuck in the car with his mom was awkward. Rebecca talked to her the whole ride to the church. Since he wasn't speaking to his mom unless absolutely necessary, he just stared out the window the whole time.

Katie's death had impacted him more than he thought it would. She was a great sister in law and he would miss her. She understood him and put up with the fact that, up until he met Rebecca, he was only in their lives on his own, selfish terms.

She didn't seem to be angry or resentful about the fact that he wasn't a good brother or uncle for such a long time. She just let him back into their lives like he had never left. While he would miss her, he also felt bad for Marcus and the kids.

The past couple of days he saw his brother retreat into himself and be very quiet, which he realized was Marcus' way of coping with everything going on. It still worried him though.

He could only imagine the pain of losing the person you love in such a random, violent manner—especially since the police didn't seem to have any leads on finding the person or persons responsible.

He knew that Marcus loved Katie more than anything else in the world. It was the same way he felt about Rebecca. Losing Rebecca would devastate him and he would probably be acting the same way as Marcus was right now. That was why he was giving his brother some space.

He grabbed a hold of Rebecca's hand as they entered the church behind Marcus, the kids and his mom. They sat in the front row. As soon as they sat down, Olivia moved to sit on Rebecca's lap, clinging on to her for dear life. He looked over at Rebecca and shrugged. Ethan sat sandwiched between Marcus and Lily.

It wasn't long before the service started and the preacher appeared in the front.

"Psalm 23 says: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

"For those of you who don't know me. My name is Father Walker, and I am one of the pastors here. On behalf of the family, I would like to welcome you as we have gathered here together today to remember Katherine, Katie, Specter. Thank you for being here today. I am sure that the family recognizes that you don't have to be here. Your presence today is an affirmation of your love and support for them. They will remember your presence here for the rest of their lives."

"We have all been touched by Katie's life and story, and each of us feels this loss deeply. But we cannot change what happened. The important thing is that we learn from Katie's passing what we need to know about ourselves, about life, and about God."

"When we are faced with uncertainty all around us, I think it's important that we turn to what we are certain of. We are certain that Katie loved her family. She was always talking about how proud she was of her children and her devotion to her family was evident to all who knew her. Katie loved her friends. She was already ready to lend a helping hand to any friend that needed something, whether it was advice or help. And Katie loved God."

"Today we can take comfort in the fact that we know that Katie is with Jesus, and when all is said and done that is all that matters in life. Life is not about the house you lived in, the car you drove, or the money you made. It is never easy to lose a loved one. So this morning, I want us to turn our hearts towards God who is the giver of all comfort and the restorer of our souls."

"Life is hard. We struggle with pain, illness, and the grief of losing a loved ones. But God can take us from our situation and bring us to a place of rest where we can lie down beside quiet waters where our souls can be refreshed. Our lives on this earth are hard and painful. Sometimes things happen that we don't fully understand. But our encouragement is that one day, all of our hurt and pain can be over, and we can spend all eternity in paradise."

"In Heaven, we will walk on streets of gold. In Heaven, there will be a family reunion. We will be reunited with those who have gone on before us. In Heaven, we will experience peace that is beyond comprehension. And most importantly, we will be with Jesus. And we will finally see the great love of God in all of its glory."

"I would now like to call upon anyone who wishes to come up and say a few words about Katie."

Rebecca tried to get Olivia to move over to Harvey so she could go up there, but the little girl moved around to hug her neck tightly. She had planned on saying something about Katie and it looked like if she wanted to do it, she would have to take Olivia with her. She stood up and carried Olivia up to the front.

"Hi everyone. For those of you who don't know, I'm Rebecca Specter, Katie's sister in law. And this is her daughter, Olivia. I wanted to come up here and talk about the kind of person Katie was. I was only fortunate to know Katie for a few years, but she was one of my closest friends and I considered her a true sister. She was so supportive to everyone and her family was the most important part of her life."

"She loved her kids and her husband more than anything in the world and she would have done anything for them. She was funny, sweet, sarcastic, smart and generous. The world isn't going to be the same without her."

She stopped talking and hugged Olivia tighter as she came back to her seat. Once she was sitting back down and had Olivia back on her lap, Harvey reached over and grabbed her free hand. He gave it a squeeze and she looked over at him, giving him a small smile.

* * *

Later on in the afternoon, Harvey went out to the back with a bag of trash. They had a small reception back at the house and they were currently cleaning up since the last guest had just left. After putting the bag in the trash can, he turned to see his mom standing there in front of the door.

"What do you want?" He sighed.

"Harvey…you have to talk to me at some point." She pointed out.

"No, actually I don't." He argued. "In fact, I think I've done a rather good job not talking to you for a long time. I don't want to ruin my streak."

"Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you." He told her. "I nothing you."

"Harvey, there comes a point and time when you will realize that life is too short for grudges and feuds. I would have hoped that you would have realized that by now."

"What do you want from me?" He sighed again. "Do you want me to pretend that nothing is wrong? Because I can't do that."

"I just want my son back." She sighed. "I've missed a large portion of your life because you are mad at me. I don't want to lose any more time. If Katie were here…"

"Don't you dare try to use Katie's death as a way to make me feel guilty." He interrupted.

"I wasn't trying to." She held her hands up in surrender. "Harvey, whether or not you chose to believe it I love you. You are my son…my firstborn. And yes, I made a mistake. And yes it hurt you and destroyed the family. But I'm sorry. I'm not perfect. I'm only human. I'm sorry for everything that I put you through and I'm sorry for the way it tore the family apart. If you can't understand that then I don't know what to say to you anymore. Maybe there is nothing I can say or do to make you change your mind. But you're a fool if you think I will stop trying. I've let this go on for far too long. We need to settle this."

"Maybe I don't want to settle this." He pointed out. "You can keep trying, but don't expect anything to change."

"Harvey…"

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Rebecca." He walked around her and went back into the house.

* * *

Harvey followed Rebecca back into their hotel room and closed the door. It had been a long and draining day, with the funeral and then the reception back at the house. They stayed to help clean up and get the kids down to bed. He saw that Rebecca was sitting on the foot of the bed.

"Hey." He went over and sat next to her. "I think the kids handled today well."

"I do too." She nodded. "I'm still a little worried about Ethan though. We need to make an effort to check on him after we get back home."

"Of course." He nodded.

"And we need to make sure we're checking on Marcus a lot too." She told him. "I'm worried about him as well."

"Absolutely." He promised, grabbing a hold of her hand. "You were quiet the whole way back."

"I don't know what to say anymore." She whispered. "I miss her. And I hate that she's gone. I hate that the baby she was carrying will never get to be born. I hate that her kids have to grow up without their mother. I hate that Marcus lost his wife. I just hate it all."

"I do too." He assured her, putting his arm around her.

She started to really cry for the first time since they found out about Katie's death. He had been wondering how long it was going to take for her to crumble. He honestly thought she would have cried like this before now, but maybe it was the finality of seeing Katie in the coffin that pushed her over the edge.

Her head rested on his shoulder as she cried and he tightened his grip on her. "Hey. It's going to be alright."

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity as she cried. But he didn't mind. He knew what Katie meant to her and knew that this was something she had to do in order to start moving past it.

Eventually she stopped crying and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"I didn't do anything." He shrugged.

"You let me cry." She gave him a small smile.

"To be honest, I'm surprised it took this long for you to let it out." He kissed her forehead.

"I was trying to be strong for everyone." She sighed.

"You don't ever have to be strong for me." He told her.

"Speaking of strong, I couldn't help but notice while doing the dishes that your mom cornered you outside."

"Ugh. Don't remind me." He rolled his eyes. "She wants to work things out with me."

"Harvey…" She said quietly.

"I know…I know…" He interrupted her. "You and everyone else seem to think I need to let my mom back into my life. Hell, maybe all of you are right. But I can't do it right now."

"Ok. I can respect that." She nodded, adding a slight chuckle. "But actually all I was going to say was I love you and if you ever want to talk about it I'm here for you."

He grinned and couldn't help but laugh too. "I love you too."

She grabbed a hold of his face and started giving him soft kisses. A few moments later, he felt her shift and move so that she was straddling him.

He put his hands on her ass, pushing her closer to him so she could feel his arousal.

"Harvey…" She moaned softly. "Please…"

"Please what?" He taunted her, letting one of his hands travel to her front entrance. He gently stroked her over her underwear.

"Please…" Her eyes started to close and her breathing got more ragged. "I need you."

He moved the tiny strip of underwear to the side and inserted two fingers. He could tell that she was ready and started to pump his fingers at a steady pace. Judging from the way she was breathing and the soft moans, he could tell she was getting closer.

He moved his mouth closer to her ear. "Let yourself go. Come for me."

He pulled back and saw her open her eyes. She stared at him for a moment before she claimed his mouth with hers. Moments later, he felt her give in to the pleasure. She broke apart from their kiss and moved her head to his shoulder as she tried to get her breathing back under control.

After a few minutes she pulled back and looked at him. "Thank you." She whispered.

"You might want to save that thank you for later because I'm not even close to being done with you yet." He smirked, seeing her chuckle. "I have special plans for you tonight."


	12. Chapter 12

Skyfall

Chapter Twelve

"How are you doing?" Donna asked Harvey when he came into the office the next afternoon.

Rebecca had a court hearing she had to be at for one of her clients so they didn't come into work together and he had to admit he missed her.

While their trip to Boston wasn't fun, he had enjoyed spending some extra time with her away from the pressure and high paced office environment. It made him realize that they hadn't taken a trip away together, just the two of them, since their honeymoon. He made a mental note to try and change that soon because Katie's death had made him realize that no one was guaranteed a set amount of time together.

"It was rough." He admitted.

"How is Marcus doing?"

"He's a wreck." Harvey told her.

"And the kids?"

"Olivia is alright because I'm not sure she fully understands what happened. Ethan understands and is doing the best he can right now. Rebecca is really worried about him, probably because she knows what it is like to be around his age and lose a mother."

"I can imagine." Donna nodded. "How is Rebecca doing?"

"She's doing alright, I guess." He sighed.

"How are you doing with everything?"

"I'll admit. This whole thing has shaken me up a bit." He sighed again. "It's been making me rethink some things about my life."

"That's understandable." She nodded. "Deaths in the family have a way of putting things in perspective. How was it seeing your mom?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He grumbled.

"I'll take that to mean nothing got settled." Donna chuckled.

"Thank you for your help the past few days." He smiled at her, hoping she would drop the subject of his mother.

"You may want to hold off on that thank you until you see the stack that requires your immediate attention." She cautioned with a laugh.

"Great." He scoffed.

* * *

Harvey stepped through the front door earlier than normal that night, hoping that Rebecca was already home. She never came back to the office after her court hearing and he was starting to get worried. It wasn't like she had to check in with him or anything, but most of the time she would let him know if she was going to be out of the office for the rest of the day. After what happened with Katie he was paranoid, especially since she wasn't answering her phone.

He looked around and saw her purse on the counter. So she was here. It only took a few more seconds until he saw that she was on the balcony. Relieved that she was alright, he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding in.

He made his way out the sliding door and went to stand next to her. "Hey."

"Hey. There you are! Now we can have a party!" She exclaimed happily, looking over at him.

"I thought you'd come back to the office after court. I was worried about you when you didn't."

"I didn't come back because I didn't feel like it." She shook her head and giggled softly. "And I didn't really see the point in it either." She took a drink from the glass in her hand. "So I went for a walk and then came back here. I'm sorry you were worried. I really didn't mean to make you worry."

He looked around and saw that the container with the scotch was nearly empty. He was pretty sure that it was wasn't even close to being empty before they left for Boston…which meant she was drunk…very drunk.

He took the glass from her and drank the rest. Then he placed the now empty glass on a nearby table.

"Hey! That was a little rude, mister. I was going to drink that." She chuckled.

"You're drunk." He whispered in her ear.

"Maybe just a teensy bit." She smirked. "Wanna join me? I have a bit of a head start but I'm sure you could catch up if you tried."

"No thanks. I think you're cut off tonight." He chuckled.

"Are you sure?" She giggled. "We've never really been drunk together before. It could be fun!"

"How much did you drink?"

"Enough to get drunk." She laughed. "Duh!"

"Rebecca, can you be serious about this for a moment?"

"Why?" She questioned. "Are you mad? You look mad. I hope you're not mad. You know, mad really is a funny word. The more you say it, the weirder it sounds…mad mad mad mad mad maaaaaaaddddddd…"

"I'm not mad." He assured her. "Can you please stop saying that word now?"

"Ok." She shrugged. "Party pooper."

"I'm concerned about you."

"Oh you don't have to be concerned about me! I'm fine!" She assured him, rolling her eyes. "I actually feel great right now."

"You won't tomorrow." He chuckled.

"Maybe, but that will be future Rebecca's problem. I'll let her deal with that!"

"Why don't you just tell me how much you had to drink?"

"Geez…stop acting like my father." She started to laugh. "Oh my God! Do you see why that's so funny to me? It's funny for two reasons because my own father wouldn't have cared if I got drunk unless it was in public and would have embarrassed him and you don't want to be father but right now you're totally acting like one anyway." She started to laugh so hard that she doubled over.

He had never seen her get this drunk before. She always seemed to have a very high alcohol tolerance that rivaled his own so he was worried about how much she had drank to get like this and why she was drinking so heavily. He figured it had to do with Katie's death. Judging from what she just said, it might also have to do with their earlier conversations about kids.

"What made you decide to drink so much tonight?" He asked softly. By now she had stopped laughing and he thought maybe he could get a straight answer out of her.

"You ever have one of those days where you feel like you've just been building your life on a sandy beach? You work really hard to make this grand sandcastle. You get everything placed just perfectly. You even build those princess towers and a cool looking moat. You feel really good about everything you've accomplished…and then the tide just comes in all of a sudden and washes it all away before you even have a chance to try and save it? That is the way I feel about my life right now."

He could see the tears forming in her eyes and went to hug her. But she stepped back.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

"No. I don't want to talk about it, Harvey. I really don't…"

She moved to go back inside but he stopped her, gently grabbing her arm. "Tell me…please? I can't help you if I don't know what is going on."

"Fine." She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "I guess you'll hear about it sooner or later. I'm actually kind of surprised you don't know already. I lost Consolidated Financial." She whispered.

"You lost them?" He repeated. They were her biggest client and one of the first clients she brought in after coming to the firm. They brought in tons of money in revenue for the firm every year.

"I lost them." She repeated. "They are gone baby gone and don't want to be my client anymore."

"How?" He asked. "Why?"

"They didn't give a clear reason." She explained.

"I'm sorry." He pulled her into an embrace and this time she didn't pull away.

"It's not just that though. Clients come and go. It's all cyclical." She explained. "But I doubt Jessica is still going to consider putting my name up on the wall anytime soon once she finds out I just lost my biggest client."

"Wait…" He was confused. "The wall? What the hell are you talking about? Are you talking about name partner?"

"Shit." She sighed.

"When did this happen?"

"It was right before Katie's…death." She shook her head. "Harvey, I wasn't supposed to tell you about it. Jessica wanted it to be a secret. Is there any chance you could just forget what I just said?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that."

"Shit." She sighed again. "Well Jessica said she was considering making me a name partner. Now that's not going to happen once she finds out about this."

He was surprised that Jessica wouldn't tell him about her plans because he was a name partner. He should be involved in deciding who the next name partner is, but now wasn't the time to bring it up. He would deal with that tomorrow. "I'm sorry."

She pulled away from him. "So now my career will be stalled, I've lost my biggest client, Katie's dead and you don't want to have kids with me. I'd say my life is pretty shitty right now. I mean, obviously Marcus and the kids have it worse right now…not that it is a competition. But still…you know what I mean."

"So I decided to come back here and drink until I started to feel better. It worked until you came home and decided to be a buzzkill."

He ignored the comment about kids for the second time because it wasn't the best time to have that conversation. He took a deep breath. "Why don't we get you an aspirin and put you into bed? I'm sure things will look better in the morning."

"I don't need you to handle me. I can take care of myself." She shook her head and went back inside.

"I would agree that most of the time you can take care of yourself." He agreed, following her. "Right now you are drunk though and I think the best thing would be to go to bed."

"I don't want to." She shook her head and plopped down on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest.

He sat down next to her, noticing that she was now acting like Laura when they babysat her and told her it was bedtime. It took everything in him not to laugh at the scene playing out in front of him. "I know the past few days have been rough but we're going to get through this. I promise."

"Just leave me alone." She sighed. "I don't want to talk right now."

"How about a deal?" He asked, looking over at her and smiling. "If you take an aspirin to help with the headache you'll have tomorrow, I'll stop talking."

"Ok." She agreed. "If it gets you to stop talking about it, I'll do it."

He got up and walked over to the pantry to get the aspirin and then got a bottle of water from the refrigerator. By the time he got back to the couch, she was passed out. He put it down on the coffee table and then gently picked her up. He carried her to their bed and carefully placed her on her side. Then he covered her with a blanket and kissed the top of her head.


	13. Chapter 13

Skyfall

Chapter Thirteen

Rebecca squinted as she woke up, the sun shining too brightly in her eyes. It took her a moment to realize she slept in her clothes. Shame and embarrassment creeped into her mind once she realized she had gotten drunk last night…very drunk.

She turned over to apologize to Harvey but his side of the bed was empty. She swung her legs off the side of the bed to get up so she could find him and apologize. As soon as she sat up the room started to spin a little so she laid back down. It was then that Harvey came into the bedroom.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" He asked, coming over and setting some things on the nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.

She looked over and saw there was aspirin, water and a banana. She then looked over at him. He didn't seem to be mad about her drunken state. In fact he just looked concerned.

"I feel so embarrassed." She admitted.

"You don't have to be embarrassed." He assured her.

"That's easy for you to say." She chuckled. "You didn't get insanely drunk and make a fool out of yourself."

"You didn't make a fool out of yourself."

"You're just trying to be nice." She told him. "And it's sweet."

"I've never seen you get that drunk before."

"That's because I haven't gotten this drunk in years." She told him. She had a clear memory of the last time she had gotten that drunk. It was right after he had broken up with her when Xavier kissed her.

Fortunately she wasn't as bad off this morning as she was the morning after that drinking episode. That morning she was hunched over the toilet for hours, emptying her stomach until there wasn't anything left. Surprisingly she didn't feel nauseous this time. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she wasn't drunk on vodka this time.

"I'm so sorry, Harvey."

"You don't have to apologize." He assured her, grabbing a hold of her hand. "I'm sorry you lost your client."

"I've had clients leave before. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. I just accept it as a part of life and move on. But with everything else going on…I guess I just kind of snapped for a moment." She explained.

"Like I said last night…it's been a rough few days. But it's going to get better. I promise. Dealing with Katie's death will get easier. You can find an even bigger client to replace Consolidated Financial. And you can still impress Jessica enough to put your name on the wall. The fact that she was even considering it in the first place means she is serious. I'm sure she will recognize that this is just a temporary setback."

She smiled at him and his attempt to make her feel better. But she remembered everything she said last night and she knew she mentioned him not wanting to have kids with her. The fact that he didn't mention anything about that just now while he was trying to console her about the other things told her all she needed to know.

"So about that…" She trailed off. "I know that last night I blurted out the fact I was keeping a secret from you about the name partner thing. I want to explain."

"You don't have to." He shook his head.

"Yeah I do." She argued. "Jessica brought me into her office and asked me what my plans for the next five years were. I told her I wanted to be a name partner and she explained that she was considering it but I have to do something impressive. Then she told me not to tell you."

"And you had to do what she asked." He nodded.

"I wanted to tell you. I wanted to run into your office immediately and tell you. It killed me that I couldn't say anything. But the last thing I wanted to do was disobey Jessica when she gave me a direct order."

"I understand." He nodded. "And Jessica shouldn't have put you in that position to begin with."

"You really aren't mad about this?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'll admit that last night I was a little hurt by it, but I'm not really mad…at least not at you. I'm slightly angry with Jessica, but I'll get over that."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"For what?" He laughed.

"For not being mad when you had every right to be and for taking care of me when I got so terribly drunk." She explained, giving him a hug.

"You're very welcome. Can I suggest you don't get this drunk often?" He chuckled.

"Trust me, you don't have to worry about that." She grinned.

"So before you go out and conquer the world again, I brought you water, aspirin and a banana." He pointed to the side table. "How is your head feeling?"

"It feels like there is an elephant stomping around in there." She laughed.

"Sounds about right." He smirked.

"What time is it?" She sighed.

"7:30."

"I should get up." She sat up and stayed sitting up, even though the room was still spinning slightly.

"I think you should stay here and rest a little." He cautioned.

"No." She shook her head. "I have work to do. Jessica's most likely heard about Consolidated Financial by now. I have to go execute the first stage of my plan to fix this."

"You have a plan already?" He asked.

"Of course! I already had a plan last night." She chuckled. "I formulated it while I was drinking I think it was the fourth or fifth drink that the plan started to come together."

"You made a plan while drunk?" He laughed.

"No." She shook her head. "I made a plan while inebriated. I wasn't completely drunk at that point. That came at around drink seven."

"Want to tell me what your plan is?" He laughed.

"No." She smirked. "You'll just have to wait." She then grabbed the aspirin and the water, downing the pills quickly.

"What about the banana?" He asked, pointing to it. "It will help."

"I know." She told him. "But I want to wait on that for a moment. I'd rather take a hot shower first."

"Can I join you?" He asked with a grin on his face. "I could help you wash up."

She smiled as he held out his hand for her to grab a hold of so she could get up and continued to hold on to his hand as she dragged him with her to the bathroom.

* * *

"Hey." Rebecca greeted, entering the office and sitting down across from Louis' desk.

"You're back." Louis greeted with a smile. "How are you doing?"

"I'm…well I'll be ok." She explained. "Thank you for offering to help Mike cover for us."

"No problem." He shook his head. "Family comes first and I know you would do the same for me."

"I would." She smiled. "So how are things with you?"

"Things are very good." He smiled. "I asked Shelia last night and she said yes."

"Louis, that's amazing!" She made a mental note to call Shelia later and congratulate her. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thank you." He nodded. "I feel like screaming it from the rooftop of every building in the city."

"I know that feeling well."

"Was that how you felt when you said yes to Harvey?"

"Yes." She nodded. "After he asked me I felt like I could fly."

"Exactly!" Louis chuckled. "You get it."

"I certainly do."

"While you are here can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can." She told him.

"Do you think there is any way that Harvey would be my best man?"

Louis looked so nervous asking that question and she had to keep from laughing. She wouldn't be laughing at him though, just at his nervousness. Although Harvey didn't like to admit it often, he considered Louis family and there was no doubt in her mind that he would say yes. "I think he would absolutely do that for you."

"Thank you."

"So do you still have the master list of clients for the firm?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It's all right up here." He pointed to his brain.

"Can you look at this and tell me if we would have any conflict of interests please?" She passed the piece of paper over to him. "These are clients I want to go after today."

He read of the list and then looked at her. "You should already know that United Financial is a conflict of interest."

"Not anymore." She corrected him. "I guess you didn't hear that Consolidated Financial dropped me as their counsel yesterday."

"I'm sorry." He said, handing her the paper.

"It's ok. It happens." She shrugged. "So other than that, we are good?"

"Yes." He nodded. "There aren't any other conflicts. But is the last one on the list really a possibility?"

"It might be." She explained. "We will see how convincing I can be today."

"Well good luck." He said as she stood up.

"Thanks." She smiled. She got halfway to the door and turned around to face him again. "For what it's worth Louis, I think you and Shelia are going to be very happy together."

* * *

Harvey was at his desk, working when Rebecca came into his office. "Hey." He smiled. "I thought you were getting ready to leave."

"I was, but I had an interesting conversation with Louis." She explained.

"What about?" He laughed. "Cats? Ballet? Harvey Specter?"

She laughed. "No. Weddings."

"Oh." It finally dawned on him what she was hinting at. "Did he finally propose to Shelia?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Took him long enough." He laughed heartily. "I know he isn't the best closer in the world, but it really shouldn't have taken him three years to close that deal."

"Ok, see that's why I am telling you this now instead of letting Louis tell you." She chastised him lightly. "He is on cloud nine right now and I don't want you making fun of him. Please?"

"I can't even make fun a little bit?" He asked.

"Nope." She shook his head.

"But it's one of my favorite hobbies." He complained.

"I know." She chuckled. "I need you to be on your best behavior because he has a question he wants to ask you. He's going to ask you to be his best man. And I know that you don't like to let it show often, but you do really care about Louis. So I think you know the right answer to give him when he asks."

"I'll say yes." He told her. "There shouldn't be any doubt that I would say yes."

"Thank you." She came over and gave him a quick kiss. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to go try to make a couple of rabbits appear out of my hat."

"If anyone can do it, it's you." He told her, giving her another, longer kiss before she left.

* * *

Rebecca followed the secretary into the office and tried not to be nervous. What she was getting ready to try and do was risky. But if it worked, it would definitely show Jessica she was serious about being name partner.

"Rebecca! It's good to see you!" Brian Cushman greeted with a smile, getting up from his desk and coming around to shake her hand.

"It's nice to see you too, Brian." She smiled, shaking his hand. She saw the secretary leave the room and realized she could speak freely now.

"What do I owe the pleasure of a visit from you today?" He asked.

She sat down and made sure her posture was perfect. "I wanted to make sure that you were happy with everything I've done as your personal lawyer for the past few years."

"I am very happy." He told her. "You handled my divorce, the custody disputes and also made sure my ex-wife didn't raid my retirement accounts. And then you also helped out with those other situations we don't need to talk about right now or hopefully ever again. But why the sudden check in?"

When she got him to be her client a few years ago, she had to admit it was only so that she could use his access to arrange the Yankee Stadium date for Harvey. Now she felt like she was using this man again. But this was the way the world worked so she couldn't be too hard on herself.

"I was wondering if your organization was happy with only having two subpar lawyers from a shitty law firm on your payroll."

He laughed. "Let me guess. You aren't here on a social call. You are really here because you would like to be the new Yankees general counsel?"

"Yes. I would like my firm to handle all of your legal needs and I'd like to be the point person in charge." She confirmed.

"I can't say the thought has never crossed my mind. You've more than proven yourself to be a worthy lawyer with the way you handled all of my issues." Brian told her. "But I don't have the authority to just make a change like that. I'd have to run it by my boss."

"So do you want to call him or should I?" She grinned.

"You're really serious about this?" He asked, a slight chuckle escaping. "You know there is a lot of work that has to be done. We aren't your average client."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not your average lawyer." She assured him. "I can definitely handle it."

"Ok. If you are truly serious then I will go over to his office right now and talk to him about it. And I'll call you with what he says."

"I would appreciate it." She told him, standing up. "Thank you."

* * *

Harvey stepped into Jessica's office without knocking, stopping in front of her desk.

"What's on your mind, Harvey?" Jessica asked without looking up from the file she was working on.

"I just thought maybe we haven't spent enough time talking lately about firm business." He shrugged.

"You've been to all of the partner meetings." She reminded him. "I think you are up to speed on everything."

"Did you and Louis have a meeting without me while I was gone?" He asked.

"No." She shook her head and looked at him. "What's really going on here? You don't like to talk about firm business. So why don't you spit out whatever it is you came in here to say so I can get back to work?"

"It's about Rebecca."

"Ok. What about her?"

"Don't play dumb with me." He scoffed. "You mean to tell me you didn't have a conversation about her becoming a name partner?"

"Oh. I see she told you." Jessica said, putting down her pen.

"She did…because we don't keep secrets from each other. I thought you and I didn't keep secrets from each other either but I'm not sure I can say that anymore though."

Jessica chuckled. "I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings. I just wanted to try and control the appearance of this. If we make Rebecca a name partner, it's going to look like she got it simply because she is your wife. If I take you completely out of the decision making process, then it becomes based on merit."

"Which is why you told her that and made her understand she has to be even more impressive." He now understood.

"I don't want there to be any blowback from anyone in the firm thinking that Rebecca doesn't deserve to have her name on the wall. Honestly, I would put it up right now but I don't think the timing is right. The pro bono department, her insanely high billable hours and her client list are impressive, but it's not quite enough yet to sell it to the other partners." Jessica explained.

Jessica sighed. "Look, there are a few partners who I know won't be thrilled right now if I make her a name partner. I'm trying to do what's best for everyone and the firm."

"Ok. I understand." He nodded.

"By the way, how is she doing after losing Consolidated Financial? That had to be quite a blow after everything that has happened with your family."

"You know about that already?"

"Oh please, I knew about it yesterday afternoon." Jessica chuckled. "You should know by now that I know everything that happens in this firm."

"She didn't take it very well." He admitted.

"She's resourceful though." Jessica noted. "She'll bounce back."

"Is that why you haven't already summoned her to your office for a verbal lashing like you would anyone else who lost a client like that?" He asked with a chuckle. "Or like you did when I lost a big client years ago?"

"Exactly." She smiled. "I have faith in her that she'll find a way to make it right again."

"I have faith in that too." He nodded.

"So you are in agreement that she should be a name partner?"

"Absolutely." He nodded. "She deserves it."

"Ok." Jessica nodded. "I thought that would be your response but it's good to know for sure that you support it."


	14. Chapter 14

Skyfall

Chapter Fourteen

A short time later, Rebecca walked into another meeting. While she hoped that Brian could convince his boss to hire her a general counsel for the Yankees, she wasn't putting all her stock in just that plan. Losing Consolidated Financial meant that she was free to take on another company in their industry.

And what better company to go after than their main rival, United Financial—who just happened to be a Florrick and James client. It would be fun to take one of their biggest clients away from them. It didn't happen often because she didn't encounter them on too many cases, but every once in a while she would find herself opposite either Florrick or James. They never missed an opportunity to throw it in her face that they considered her a murderer with thinly veiled insults.

She knew it was simply a way for them to try and throw her off her game. And although time had passed since that fateful night, she still felt guilty about her role in Xavier's death. So when they make comments about it, she can't help but be shaken. A part of her wondered if she would ever stop feeling guilty about it or if she would be permanently haunted.

"Mr. Greystone will see you now." The secretary said after getting off the phone.

"Thank you." She got up, took a deep breath and smoothed out her suit.

"So, Ms. Monroe, what can I do for you today? Aren't you still counsel for my rival?" Mr. Greystone asked, shaking her hand and then sitting down at his desk. "Did you come here to hand deliver some bullshit lawsuit?"

"No. And the question isn't what can you do for me. It's more what I can do for you." She explained. "You see, Consolidated Financial isn't my client anymore. They decided to go in a different direction, which is a mistake that you can now benefit from."

"Ah. I get it. You would like me to drop my firm and sign with you." He stated with a deep laugh.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Ok, I am a curious man and I have a few free minutes today. I'll bite. Please, tell me why I should switch firms."

"You are with Florrick and James. Now I used to work for them a few years ago so I can tell you from experience that they are an extremely conservative firm in respects to the kinds of risks they are willing to take and how far they are willing to go for their clients. Remember that case last year you filed against Consolidated?"

"Yes of course I remember." He nodded. "We lost that case and had to pay them."

"You should have won that case." She explained to him. "There were four motions in particular that your lawyers could have and should have filed to stop us. There was precedent they should have cited to get the case thrown out. But they didn't. The list of their incompetence on that case is staggering."

"I had to pay Consolidated $20 million because of that lawsuit." He complained.

"And they originally only wanted to make you pay $10 million in damages. I convinced them to bump up the settlement to $20 million." She told him. It was a dangerous game to play, letting him know how badly his lawyers screwed up that case and how she had screwed him over on it being on the other side. But she had to trust that this plan would work to her advantage.

"I had to pay an extra $10 million because of you?" He asked with a chuckle. "Hypothetically, if I were to drop my incompetent law firm and hire you, what could you to for me?"

This was when she knew she had him on the hook and she smiled. "Sir, you'd get a Goddamn shark fighting for you instead of the goldfish you have now."

He was quiet for a moment as he leaned back in his chair. Then he released a deep sigh. "Alright. Send me over the paperwork and I'll make you my new lawyer. It would be nice to have a shark that can take a bite out of Consolidated. Besides, I like you. I think you'll fit in nicely here."

She got up and shook his hand. "Thank you sir. You won't regret this."

* * *

Harvey silently stood in the doorway of Mike's office.

"Did you need something, Harvey?" Mike asked.

"Do you have a moment?"

"If I want to leave on time tonight, I have exactly one moment, yes." Mike laughed.

He entered the office and shut the door before sitting down across from Mike. "First of all, thanks for covering while we were in Boston."

"You're welcome." Mike said. "The last thing you two needed to worry about was work."

"We appreciated it."

"I know you didn't come all the way down here just to thank me." Mike scoffed. "What's really on your mind, Harvey?"

"Rebecca wants kids."

"Ok." Mike nodded, then was quiet for a moment. "Hold up! This isn't one of those conversations where you tell me you can't father a child so you want my sperm, is it? Because I love you two but that creeps me out on so many levels and I don't think Rachel would ever agree to something like that…"

"It's nothing like that!" Harvey scoffed. "And I'll have you know there is nothing wrong with my sperm."

"Oh, so you've had to have it checked?" Mike laughed. "Don't worry. There's absolutely no shame in that! I hear that a lot of men your age need to do that."

"No…and why must you always go to the age thing?" He chuckled. "Look, the thing is I'm not sure I want to have kids."

"Oh."

"And it's causing some issues for our relationship." He admitted.

"I see."

"I know you didn't plan on having Laura when you did…but did you want kids with Rachel before that happened?"

"Yeah." Mike nodded. "Of course I did! Laura obviously wasn't planned but we had discussed children before. We both wanted to have kids."

"How did you know you wanted them?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you are asking."

"Why did you want kids?" Harvey asked.

"Lots of reasons I guess." Mike shrugged. "One was because I wanted a chance to be a good father, like the one I had. I liked the idea of having a kid that was half me and half Rachel. I wanted to be able to teach my kid how to read, how to ride a bike and just how to be a good person."

"I don't know if I really want those things." Harvey admitted. "I mean, the idea of having this tiny human who is half me and half Rebecca is incredibly tempting…but then I think about the fact that I don't know the first thing about raising a child and I get scared."

"I didn't know anything about it either." Mike laughed. "But you figure it out and you do the best you can. Plus they have some really great books you can read about it too."

"You're a good dad."

"Thank you Harvey. That means a lot."

"I mean it. You and Rachel are great parents. And I think Rebecca would be a good mom. I just…feel almost defective because I don't have that overwhelming desire to father a kid like she does to be a mom."

"You aren't defective." Mike defended him. "But you do need to talk to Rebecca about this. Have you told her how you feel?"

"I've only told her about the fact that I'm not sure I want to have kids. She took that to mean I don't want to have kids ever." He explained.

"That is what it sounds like though. I can see how she would think that."

He looked over at Mike and sighed. "I know. In the past she didn't seem too worried about it. She didn't pressure me about it. But now, I feel like this is going to become an issue for us."

"You need to be completely honest with her about this." Mike advised. "It's the only way to get through this."

"I know." He sighed.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I panicked after we found out Rachel was pregnant with Laura. I also panicked after we found out she was pregnant with James too. But after the panic comes the realization that you have created this human being with the woman you love more than your own life, and you get to watch this human grow and develop. It's a beautiful thing. And for what it's worth, I think you would be an outstanding father."

Harvey nodded, taking Mike's words to heart. "Thanks Mike."

"Anytime." Mike called after him as he left.

He walked back to his office and saw Louis. He was walking into the office and then back out. Staying back for a moment, he watching Louis do that five more times. "In or out Louis." He said in a booming voice. "Which is it going to be?"

"In." Louis said, following him into the office. "I just didn't know if I should wait for you inside your office or not. Last time I waited inside you yelled at me."

"What's up?" He asked, going and sitting in his desk chair.

"I asked Shelia to marry me." Louis announced. "And she said yes."

"Congratulations Louis." He smiled. "I'm happy for you both."

"Thanks." Louis smiled widely. "I was wondering if you would do me a favor. It's kind of a big favor, but you're really the only one that I would ever even think of asking. Would you be my best man?"

"I'd be honored." He got up from the chair and held out his hand for Louis to shake. But in true Louis fashion, instead of shaking hands he threw his arms around him. That's how he found himself hugging Louis Litt for the seventh time in his life.

"Thank you Harvey!" Louis gushed. "You don't know what this means to me."

"If you don't stop hugging me right now I'm not going to do it." He warned.

"Oh." Louis backed away. "Sorry. I just got carried away there."

"It's ok." He laughed, going back to sit down.

"I can't wait to go tell Shelia." Louis exclaimed, leaving the office.

* * *

Rebecca stood in Jessica's doorway. "Do you have a moment?"

Jessica looked up at her. "Sure."

She came in and handed Jessica two folders. "I figure by now you know I lost Consolidated Financial as a client yesterday."

"Yes. I did hear about that." Jessica nodded. "I'm sorry that you lost them."

"It's ok." She shrugged.

"What is in these files?"

"I gained two new clients today." Rebecca smiled. "I thought you might want to know about it."

Jessica grinned and opened the first file. "You got United Financial?"

"Yep." She smiled.

"Weren't they clients of your old firm?" Jessica smirked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "That was just an added bonus."

"That's impressive." Jessica admitted. "United might actually give you more in billable hours than Consolidated did since they are trying to merge with a couple of smaller institutions."

"If you want more billable hours, just wait until you open the second file." She chuckled.

"You're kidding, right?" Jessica asked after she looked at the second client.

"No, I'm definitely not kidding."

"How the hell did you sign the Yankees organization?" Jessica questioned with a grin on her face.

"I have my ways." She smirked.

"I'm a little lost for words at the moment, which doesn't happen often." Jessica took a moment. "Did you do all of this in one day?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Good job." Jessica smiled.

"Thank you." She smiled back, taking the files back from Jessica's desk. "I'll let you get back to work now."

* * *

Harvey was finishing up a motion and pressing save when he saw Rebecca enter his office. He couldn't help but smile at her. She seemed to be in a good mood so he figured her day went well.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." He greeted back. "You have good timing because I'm ready to head home if you are."

"Ok." She agreed. "We can leave in a moment. Can we talk first?"

"Of course." He watched as she came over to his desk and leaned up against it. "So how are you feeling?"

"Much better." She smiled.

"Were you able to pull rabbits out of your hat?" He questioned. Judging by the look on her face, he thought it went well.

"It went really well and I actually was able to get everything settled sooner than I originally thought." She explained, handing him the files that were in her hand.

"What's this?" He questioned, holding the files in his hand.

"My two newest clients." She smiled proudly.

He opened the first file and saw it was United Financial. It was a smart move to go after a competitor of the client that left you. And United Financial was a client of her old firm, so it was definitely a good choice. Florrick and James had it coming considering they were always trying to make her feel guilty about Xavier's death.

"This is great." He smiled.

"Look at the second one." She encouraged. "I think you'll like that one even more."

"Ok." He opened the second folder and then looked back at her. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely." She nodded.

"You signed the Yankees?"

"Yep." She nodded again. "And so anytime you want to go to a game, all it takes is one phone call from me and we have box seats."

He smiled. "You're incredible to be able to do this in one day."

"Why thank you." She moved so that she could wedge herself in between his desk and his chair.

"What are you doing?" He smirked.

"What do you think?" She asked, straddling him while he was sitting down.

"I thought you didn't want to do this kind of thing in the office where people could see us." He reminded her.

"It's late and there aren't many people here. Besides, it was a very good day for me. So you need to either take me home right now or follow me to the file room." She whispered into his ear before starting to kiss his neck. "It's your choice."

"File room it is." He grinned.


	15. Chapter 15

Skyfall

Chapter Fifteen

Rebecca grabbed the towel as she stepped out of the shower and covered her body as she thought about the way the last two months had gone. Katie's death still rattled her and it was weird to not be able to pick up the phone and talk to her. She missed her friend.

She had been trying to check in with Marcus and the kids every day. Most days Marcus didn't even answer the phone and that worried her. So she had started calling Lily every day too.

While she understood Harvey's issues with his mother, she had a different experience with the woman. Lily had been nothing but welcoming to her and they had struck up a fairly close relationship. It was nice to have an older woman's presence in her life because she hadn't had that for a long time.

Lily claimed that the kids were doing ok and she believed the woman. She checked in with Ethan almost every other day via Facetime because she was concerned about him. But he seemed to be handling things better than she thought he would. Olivia usually didn't sit still long enough to Facetime, but she made sure to set eyes on the young girl at least once a week through the phone.

Her main concern now was Marcus. Lily had told her that Marcus was spending more and more time at his restaurants and less time at home with the kids. It worried her because while she understood that Marcus was mourning the loss of his wife, he needed to be spending time with his kids. They needed him now more than ever.

Apparently they all pretty much moved into Lily's house after the funeral and she was taking care of the kids, while also trying to keep an eye on her son. It made sense that Marcus wouldn't want to live in the house that Katie was killed in. She could only imagine the nightmares that came from him finding her in the kitchen. Harvey had described to her what Marcus said he walked in on and it sounded horrifying.

The police still hadn't found the person or persons responsible for Katie's death. That must be weighing on Marcus too. She knew they all wanted some closure.

At least work was going well. With the two new clients she brought in, it pushed her billable hours up even higher. She was busier than before, but at least Rachel was back at the firm from maternity leave so she didn't have to help Mike with the pro bono department anymore.

Things with Harvey were going well, though they were staying as far away from the kids issue as possible. It made things weird every once and a while, like when they went to Mike and Rachel's house for dinner, but ignoring the problem was working for them for the most part.

Although she was busier than ever, she made even more of an attempt to spend more time with him. Since he hadn't throw the word 'workaholic' back in her face lately, she assumed she was doing a better job than before.

She was a little worried about him though because she had yet to see him have any real reaction to Katie's death. She could tell he was affected by it. But he hadn't had a breakdown moment. She, on the other hand, had two. One was after the funeral and the other was her drunken episode. Harvey just for the most part acted like everything was fine. He wasn't talking to her about it and that concerned her.

She stepped out of the bathroom clad only in her towel and saw that Harvey was awake, sitting up in the bed. "Morning."

"You didn't wake me up." He chuckled.

"You got in late last night." She explained. "How did drinks with Mike and Louis go?"

"Good." He nodded. "I still think you should have woken me up when you got up."

"I figured you could use the extra half hour of sleep."

He got up and walked over to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and giving her a kiss. "In all fairness I do have a very busy day today."

"Is it lots of meetings or just paperwork?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Neither." He grinned. "My only plans are with you."

She chuckled. "Harvey, as much as I'd love to stay home and play hooky with you, I have work I need to do."

"I already got Louis to cover for you today." He told her. "I asked him last night."

"Harvey…"

"And before you say anything else, just know that we aren't staying home and playing hooky. We are going somewhere and playing hooky."

"What are you up to?" She asked, unable to contain her laughter.

"I thought we could go away for a three day weekend." He told her, pulling her even closer to him.

"Go away?" She questioned. "Like on a trip just the two of us?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"But we haven't done that since…"

"Our honeymoon." He finished her sentence for her. "I know. But your birthday is tomorrow and I was thinking lately that we need to take time out of our lives to do things like this and spend quality time together. So I thought we could go away."

"That's really sweet." She leaned in and kissed him. With everything going on she had actually forgotten about her birthday this year. It meant a lot to her that he hadn't forgotten. "So where are we going?"

"I rented us a nice cabin up in the Finger Lakes region. We leave now and then come back on Sunday afternoon." He explained. "What do you think?"

She smiled. "I think some time away with you sounds heavenly and I don't care where we go."

It meant a lot to her that he was trying to do something special for her for her birthday this year. Usually he would take her to a nice dinner and get her a gift, which she suspected was chosen for her by Donna. The gift was always something wonderful and he did his best to make her birthday special. But if there was a competition of who made the other person's birthday the most special, she would win it every year. So the fact that he was stepping up his game made her feel very special.

* * *

Several hours later, Harvey pulled up to the cabin they were staying at for the next couple of days.

"Harvey…what the hell did you do?" Rebecca chuckled as she got out of the car. "This place is massive."

It was a two story wooden cabin with a huge wrap around porch and intricate landscaping all around. He had Donna find a cabin that was spacious and modern on the inside. From the looks of the outside, she did a good job choosing it.

"We don't need this much space." She told him.

"Haven't you learned by now that when I travel, I like to do it first class all the way?" He smirked.

She grinned back at him. "Yeah, I guess so."

He got their bags out from the trunk and followed her into the cabin. She was right when she said the place was massive. There had to be at least six bedrooms. He had to hand it to Donna, she chose a nice cabin for them.

He looked over at her, watching as she walked around the downstairs of the cabin. She looked like she was in awe of the place. It was nice looking and well decorated. He liked seeing her so happy.

Without much warning she came back over to him and threw her arms around his neck. Then she kissed him.

"What's that for?" He chuckled.

"I know that Donna probably found this place, but she wouldn't have done it if you didn't ask her to. It means a lot to me that you wanted to do something special for my birthday." She explained.

"Well I know how much you love birthdays." He chuckled. "And to be honest, I haven't really ever done anything for you like what you do for my birthdays. I kind of owed you something special."

"You don't owe me anything other than love." She said, leaning in to kiss him.

"Well don't worry. I have plenty of that." He smirked when they pulled apart from each other.

"Do you want to go explore the upstairs with me?" She asked, linking her hand with his. "Maybe we can see if this place has a bed."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

Later that evening, Harvey leaned back against the Jacuzzi that was on the deck. He looked out at the scene of nature in front of him and the sunset. This was a good idea to get away for a few days and he was glad that Rebecca liked it. Maybe they could make it an annual thing.

"That sunset is gorgeous." She said, appearing in the doorway with two glasses of scotch.

"It is the second most beautiful thing I've seen today." He smiled at her, taking the glass from her hand. She was wearing a very skimpy bikini and he had to stop himself from just picking her up and carrying her to the nearest hard surface so he could have his way with her.

She smiled, getting in next to him. Then she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "This place is amazing. Thank you Harvey."

"You deserve nothing but the best." He told her, taking a sip of the scotch.

"It feels great being away like this. I feel like I can actually relax for the first time in a long time."

"I agree." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "After everything that has happened lately, we needed this."

"Yeah. Can I ask you a question though?"

"Of course."

"I know that Katie's death has been hard on you."

As soon as he mentioned Katie's death, he realized this was going to turn into a serious conversation.

"I have seen it take a toll on you." She continued. "And I know you aren't as unaffected as you try to come across. I guess my question is why aren't you talking about it? Why are you holding it all in?"

He sighed. "I'm not talking about it because I don't see what good it will do. She'll still be gone and the whole situation will still suck."

"I think talking about it might help." She pointed out.

"What do you want me to say?" He scoffed, moving away from her a little so he could look at her face. "You want me to say how I miss her? How I hate that I feel like her death only exacerbated my abandonment issues? You want me to say that I feel completely helpless to do anything to make anyone feel better about this? That I feel powerless because I can't change anything? Because I feel powerless to fix anything and I hate that. Do you want me to say that the only time I feel grounded and secure is when I am with you? Because all of that is true."

She put her hands on both sides of his face. "Harvey… you don't have to try and fix anything."

"But…"

"No." She shook her head. "I know you want to control things and you want to make sure everyone you care about is ok. And I love that about you. But there is no way to control this or make things ok for everyone and that's alright. It's just a part of life that bad things happen to good people. We have been doing everything we can to make things better for Marcus and the kids by keeping in constant contact with them."

"Yeah, but Marcus won't answer his phone."

"I know." She nodded. "And it sucks because he really needs his big brother right now. But he obviously isn't ready to talk. So we just keep trying because that's all we can do right now. And I know you miss her. I do too. It's going to get easier though."

He chuckled softly. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Somehow always make me feel better." He stated.

"It's just a talent I have." She smirked. "Besides, you have the same talent to make me feel better. Look…I know you like to be the strong, silent type. But you don't need to do that with me. I'm supposed to be the safe place where you can say anything you are thinking or feeling. So anytime you have something bothering you, just come to me. Ok?"

"Ok." He nodded. "How did I get so lucky to have someone like you?"

"Oh no, I think you have gotten that wrong." She chuckled. "I'm the lucky one."

"I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on who the lucky one is." He smirked.

She moved so that she was straddling him. Then she threw her arms around his neck. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"I think I can guess." He smirked.

"You'd probably be wrong though." She grinned. "I am hopelessly…" She kissed his cheek. "Desperately…" She kissed his neck. "Ridiculously in love with you."

"I guess now is a good time to tell you that I feel exactly the same way about you."

"Really?" She grinned.

"Really." He smirked.

"Then I guess we are both very lucky people because not everyone has what we have." She explained.

"I agree." He nodded. "We are incredibly lucky."

"Do you want to go get lucky?" She asked. She got up from where she was sitting, letting her hand casually graze his groin as she moved.

He watched as she got out of the Jacuzzi. "Hell yeah I want to get lucky."

"Follow me then." She smirked as she slowly walked back into the cabin.

It didn't take him long to follow her inside.


	16. Chapter 16

Skyfall

Chapter Sixteen

Rebecca woke up the next morning and rolled over to find Harvey wasn't in bed with her. She groaned and sat up to go look for him. So this must be what he was complaining about. Truthfully it was frustrating to wake up alone so she could see why he didn't like it. Before her feet hit the floor, she heard his voice.

"Get back in bed." He chuckled.

She looked up to see him enter the room with a tray in his hands. "I was just coming to find you."

"You are the birthday girl though…" He reminded her. "You get to have breakfast in bed, but that only works if you stay in bed."

"You're actually going to let me eat in bed?" Her eyes got wide with excitement. "You've never let me do that. It goes against your rules."

"Well this isn't my bed and there are other beds we can try before we leave. So the rule doesn't count here." He replied, setting the tray down on the bed for her. Then he leaned in and gave her a kiss. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you." She smiled, giving him another quick kiss. She then looked at the tray he brought her. There was coffee, eggs, pancakes and a large pile of bacon.

About a year ago, she spent a month teaching him how to make basic foods because she figured it was time he learned how to do more than just grill and make spaghetti. Now she was glad she had taken the time to do that because it was a nice gesture for him to make her breakfast for once.

"You didn't get any for yourself?" She questioned as she watched him cross the room to climb into bed on the other side next to her.

"I ate some eggs and toast while making yours." He explained.

"Ok." She smiled, digging in to her food. She was silent for a few minutes as she practically inhaled the food from the plate. "Oh my God this is really good."

"You say that like you didn't expect it to even be edible." He laughed.

"It's not that." She assured him, pointing to the already half empty plate. "I just…ok to be completely honest I wasn't sure you were actually listening to me when I tried to teach you how to cook."

"Why?" He grinned. "Is it because I kept trying to pin you against the counter every five seconds?"

"That has something to do with it." She smiled.

"Well I was listening to you." He pointed out. "I just also couldn't keep my hands off of you."

"I noticed." She grabbed a piece of bacon.

He leaned in and kissed her.

"I now see why you are so grumpy when you wake up to an empty bed." She admitted, taking a bite of bacon.

He grinned. "It isn't fun, is it?"

"No." She agreed in between bites. "It definitely isn't fun."

"I'm glad you now understand my plight." He teased her. "Maybe now you won't leave the bed so much in the morning."

"I'll certainly do my best." She promised.

"So I have two birthday presents for you. Do you want them both now? Later? One now and one later? How do you want to do it this year?"

"Two presents this year?" She questioned. "Wow. I'm a lucky girl."

"You know you can get lucky as soon as you are done with breakfast, if you are interested." He whispered into her ear.

"I'm definitely interested in that." She whispered back. "But I'm not very patient about presents now that I know that you got me two. So let's do both of them now."

"Ok." He took the tray away for a moment and set it down before going into his bag and bringing out two small gift bags. "I had a feeling you would say that."

She watched as he came back over to the bed and handed her one of the bags.

"I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will." She took the tissue paper out of the bag and picked out the box. Opening it, she saw a watch that had to be expensive. It was a Cartier, white gold watch with three rows of diamonds surrounding the face. She stared at it for a few minutes. "Harvey…this is…"

"You don't like it?" He asked. "I saw it last week and thought it fit in with your style. But I can return it if you don't…"

"No." She chuckled. "I don't like it at all. I love it. It's absolutely beautiful. But it's too much."

"Nothing is too much for you." He assured her. "Turn it over."

She did what he asked and saw that he had the back engraved. Tiny letters spelled out _To my favorite teammate. Love always, H_

She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you."

He gently took the watch from her hand and placed it on her wrist. "I thought it was time you had a real watch."

"Hey! Don't make fun of my old watch." She chuckled.

"But it is so old and worn looking." He laughed. "I'm surprised anyone ever took you seriously."

"Well now I guess they won't have any choice but to take me seriously." She pointed out, staring at the new watch.

"Damn right they won't." He grinned, kissing her again. Then he handed her the other bag. "So this present isn't just from me. It's kind of a group present."

"Well that is certainly intriguing." She laughed. "Who do I have to thank for this group present?" She pulled the tissue paper out of the bag to reveal an envelope. She picked up the envelope and slowly tore it open. Then she looked at the papers that looked like a contract. She read the top line and looked over at him.

"Are you serious?" She asked. "Is this for real? Because if this is some kind of joke, then you have a horrible sense of humor…"

"Oh it's definitely for real. One text to Jessica from me that you've signed the paperwork and it is official by the time we are back on Monday." He assured her.

"I'm really becoming a name partner?"

"Only if you sign that contract." He grinned. "And before you ask, there is a pen in the bottom of the bag."

She reached into the bag and quickly pulled out the pen. Putting the paperwork on the bed, she flipped to the page she needed to sign. But then she hesitated and put the pen down.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "I thought you wanted this."

"I do want this. I've wanted it since I was eight years old." She looked over at him. "I mean, what lawyer doesn't want to end up being a name partner? Everyone wants to see their name go up on the wall. It's what you work towards you're entire career. It's what you dream of at night and daydream about during the day. I just…I guess I didn't think Jessica would actually do it, and I definitely didn't think it would happen so soon."

"She realizes that you have an immense value to the firm. You are loyal and dedicated, two things that are essential to being a name partner. To me, it's a no brainer." He explained.

"It's not because I know about Mike's secret though, right?" She questioned.

"No." He shook his head. "Why on Earth would you even think that?"

"Harvey…I'm not an idiot." She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I know that a large part of the reason why Jessica hired me in the first place was because I didn't tell anyone about Mike, she felt bad about Xavier and Edward Darby, and she was trying to keep me around for you so we could work things out."

"That's not…"

"Don't insult my intelligence." She interrupted. "I know I'm right and you know I'm right too."

"Ok. It may have crossed her mind to offer you the job because of those reasons, but it wasn't the only reason why she hired you." He explained. "And it sure as shit isn't why she is offering you this now."

"Can you see why I would think that though?" She asked.

"Why didn't you say anything about this sooner?" He asked. "I thought we had worked through the Mike issues and gotten past it."

"I don't know." She shrugged. "It's not something that crosses my mind every day but I do think about it occasionally."

"Look, you've done great things for the firm. The pro bono department is a complete success, you've brought in some amazing clients and you work your ass off every day…" He trailed off for a moment. "That's it though, isn't it?"

"What?"

"I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. It's been practically staring me in the face. You've been so laser-focused on work the past few years and now the reason makes sense. You don't feel like you deserve your senior partnership position, so you've been trying to over-compensate by working ten times harder than everyone else."

"Since when did you get your psychology degree?" She laughed.

"I just know you. But I should have figured this out sooner." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "Look…Jessica, Louis and I have seen you work and we know how good of a lawyer you are. Honestly it doesn't matter what brought you to the firm. What matters is what you did once you got there, and that is why you deserve this."

"You promise?" She started to smile.

"I swear." He assured her. "Now just sign the paperwork so I can text Jessica that we have a new name partner."

"You're so bossy sometimes." She joked with a wink. She picked up the pen and then signed on the line before handing the papers to him. "Here you go, partner."

"Thank you, partner." He smiled.

"Can you wait to text Jessica?" She asked.

"I guess so." He nodded. "Why?"

"Well, like you said…there are more beds that we need to try. There are also showers, counters and some couches. I think we should try to cross something else off our list." She smirked.

"I like the way you think." He grinned.

She got off the bed and walked towards the door, stripping the tank top off and throwing it behind her. Then she turned around. "Are you just going to sit there or are you going to follow me?"

"I would follow you anywhere." He told her, scrambling to get of the bed and catch up to her.


	17. Chapter 17

Skyfall

Chapter Seventeen

Harvey led her out to the patio, where they were going to eat dinner. The table was set with Champagne and candles.

"This looks so nice." She leaned in to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What is for dinner?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Dinner is being catered by a private chef so whatever it is, it should hopefully be good."

"Really? You hired a private chef?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I didn't want you to feel like you had to cook on your birthday, and I can't make anything fancy enough to honor you the way you deserve. Besides, I didn't want to be away from you in the kitchen for that long."

"So you did all of this for me?"

He looked over at her and nodded. "Of course I did. By now you've got to know. There's nothing I wouldn't do or give to you."

He saw the look that flashed across her face and realized what he said. He told her he would do anything for her, but according to her that wasn't true because she still thought he never wanted to have kids. He'd been thinking about kids a lot recently. Katie's death had put some things in perspective while it threw others into a tailspin. They needed to talk about it and finally put an end to their avoidance of this issue.

He went over and pulled out her chair for her, watching as she sat down. "Tonight we are not only celebrating your birthday, but also the fact that you are joining us as a name partner." He held up his glass. "To Pearson Specter Litt Monroe. I think it has a nice ring to it."

She wordlessly picked up her glass and clinked it with his before drinking.

He was about to say something else when the chef appeared with food.

"Good evening. My name is Jacques. I am delighted to be here to celebrate your birthday." He smiled at Rebecca.

"Thank you." She smiled back.

"Tonight your first course is wild mushrooms in garlic butter on a toasted brioche." He put the food down in front of Rebecca first and then Harvey.

"This looks good." Harvey spoke up.

"Yes, it does." She nodded, taking a bite.

"So we should probably talk about the elephant in the room, shouldn't we?" He asked after a few moments of them eating in silence.

"We don't have to talk about it." She shook her head.

"I just mean we need to have another talk about kids, don't we?"

He watched her sigh and put down her fork.

"I knew what you mean. But first of all, I'm not sure I want to have this conversation on my birthday. Second, I'm not sure what has changed since the last time we talked about this. Third…"

"Alright." He interrupted her. "I think you've made your point."

"I don't think I have." She shook her head. "I appreciate that you want to talk about it. But unless something has changed, there is no good reason to keep bringing it up."

Jacques chose this time to come back with the second course. "For the main entrée, we have a char grilled, dry aged sirloin steak. That is served with a whiskey peppercorn sauce. We also have cheesy mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli."

Harvey waited until Jacques had disappeared back into the kitchen before he spoke again.

"I'm really not trying to make you mad."

"And yet here we are." She rolled her eyes. "I've been perfectly fine avoiding the kids question with you the past few weeks.

"I have too." He admitted. "But look, having kids isn't a simple as a yes or no question to me."

"I'm painfully aware of that." She sighed.

"It's much more complicated than that."

"But why do we have to have this conversation right now?"

"Because we need to always be honest with each other." He answered.

"You're really not going to let this go? Even though it is my birthday?" She questioned with a chuckle.

"No." He shook his head. While he had to admit that the timing was bad, he firmly believed that they needed to hash this out once and for all. He really had been thinking about this a lot the past few weeks and he needed to be honest with her. "I'm sorry but I'm not dropping this. You said I should always come to you with my thoughts and feelings. This is me coming to you with those."

"Ok." She chuckled again. "I did say that, so I'd be a pretty shitty person if I shot you down the first time you try to engage in conversation with me."

He could see that she had given up.

"Go on then." She gave him a small smile.

"Do you remember the second day of our honeymoon? More specifically the afternoon? With the hammock?"

"Yes." She nodded with a soft chuckle. "How could I forget that? I've never loved a hammock more in my entire life than that day."

" _I'm pretty sure I've died and gone to heaven." Rebecca laughed, snuggling closer to him on the hammock as they laid together in the shade._

 _He moved and looked at the tiny bikini she was wearing. "I think you stole my line because seeing you in that bikini is enough to make me think I'm either dreaming or dead."_

 _She let her hand graze his member, which sprang to life at her touch._

" _Nope." She grinned back. "You're definitely not dead."_

 _It was their second day at the private Villa he rented for them in the Bahamas. It was a large, sprawling villa with an open floor plan. There were two bedrooms and many hard surfaces for them to have sex on. They decided early on to see how many of the surfaces they could have sex on, kind of like a fun game._

 _The villa was on a small, private island and on a whim he decided to rent all four of the villas on the island so they could have free reign of the island for the week of their honeymoon._

 _This afternoon they were laying in the hammock together, resting up and relaxing. This was the first vacation he had taken from work in years. The last time he took a vacation was years ago. Jessica practically pushed him out of the door, thinking some time away would help him after the death of his father. But he was bored out of his mind because he was all alone. He was also grieving so he spent most of his time drinking and listening to his father's records. Now though, he was loving every minute of his vacation because he got to spend alone time with his favorite person in the world. And she was now his wife, tethered to him forever. That thought no longer scared him like it did in the past. Instead it excited him._

" _Have you ever had sex on a hammock?" She asked._

" _No." He chuckled, kissing the top of her head and gingerly caressing her back._

" _Would you like to?"_

" _Of course I would." He told her. "But can we talk for a moment first?"_

" _Sure. What do you want to talk about?"_

" _I know I freaked out a couple of weeks ago, and I'm sorry."_

 _She raised her head from his chest and propped herself up so she could look at him. "Harvey, it's ok."_

" _No, it's not." He shook his head. "It wasn't fair to you when I tried to call off the wedding like that. And I know the wedding didn't turn out the way you originally thought it would and I'm sorry. It wasn't fair to you and you deserved better than that."_

" _It all turned out ok though, so as far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter. We got married and that's what is important." She assured him. "Besides, you kept your promise to me…the one you made when you proposed. You came to me and you voiced your fears. You let us work through it and find a solution together. The man I picked up in that bar that night wouldn't have done that. He would have just told me we were through and walked away without looking back."_

" _I thought we agreed I picked you up in that bar." He playfully rolled his eyes._

" _I think we both know that isn't how it happened. Stop trying to rewrite our history." She chuckled. "But seriously, Harvey, it's ok to have fears about something. It's normal. And I think you've come to a place where you feel comfortable enough expressing those fears to me in a healthier way than in the past. So I'm alright with you freaking out from time to time as long as we can be honest with each other about it because I love you more than anything in this world. And nothing you ever do or say is going to change that fact."_

" _I love you too." He leaned in to give her a soft kiss. "I'm the luckiest man in the world."_

" _Yeah. You probably are." She grinned and winked at him. "But I'd say I'm pretty lucky too though." A moment later she reached behind her and with one hand undid the tiny string keeping her bikini top on. Then she threw it onto the white sandy beach._

" _Oh no." She feigned outrage. "My bikini top fell off and flew over there. Oops."_

 _He smirked. "Maybe you should try to keep better track of your bikini."_

 _She moved to straddle him and then undid the strings at both of her hips. It caused the bikini to loosen to the point where she grabbed it and threw it over where her top was. "Oh no. The same thing happened to my bikini bottom."_

" _Whatever am I going to do with you?" He laughed._

" _I can think of seven things right off the top of my head, and that's without even really trying. Do I have to do everything?" She rolled her eyes after winking at him._

 _He grinned. Then he wrapped his arms around her, masterfully flipping her over in the hammock so that now he was on top of her. "No. Trust me…I have a list of more than just seven things I want to do to you."_

" _Then maybe we should stop talking and get cracking on banging out that list." She grinned._

" _Oh there will be a lot of banging, Mrs. Specter." He told her before kissing her neck._

" _Promises, promises, Mr. Specter…" She said, running her fingers through his hair._

"I haven't been entirely honest about why I am hesitant to have kids." He told her. "It's not fair to you and honestly, we need to work on a solution to this kids issue before it becomes a bigger problem.

"Ok." She said slowly. "You're right about it becoming a bigger problem. I don't want that either."

"Good. It's true that I am worried about our relationship changing. I love the life we have together right now and changing it does concern me. I'm a selfish man. I'll admit that. I don't like to share you with anyone. If we have kids, I'm afraid they will be your top priority, followed by work and then I'll be third on the list." He stated.

"Harvey…" She reached out and put her hand on his hand. "There's no way you would ever be third on my list of priorities. I'm sorry for anything I may have done to make you think that. But you have always been at the top of my list. I know you haven't always believed that because of the time that I spend at work, but it's the truth."

"I know." He nodded. "But just like you aren't able to let the Mike issue completely go out of your mind, I can't let that thought completely go out of mine. I also just…I don't think I would be a very good father."

"What? That's a crazy thought. How can you think that? You would be an amazing father, Harvey. You really would."

"I don't know what I'm doing. When we were babysitting Lily and James, you seemed to know exactly what to do. But I have no clue about any of it. And when we were in Boston, I had no idea what to say to Olivia or Ethan. But you somehow knew exactly what they needed to hear." He confessed.

"I don't really know what I'm doing either." She told him. "I just fake it because that's what you have to do to get through it. The important part is that kids know they are loved. While Lily and James are too young to really show that clearly, I know for a fact that Olivia and Ethan love you and they know you love them too. You don't give yourself enough credit. You're much better with kids than you think you are."

"Look, my father wasn't perfect." He continued. "He was away a lot when we were growing up. But I always knew he loved us. I also knew we mattered to him. My mom…well she was great growing up until I found out that it was all a lie. She didn't love my dad…she couldn't have and still have done what she did. And she couldn't have loved me and still asked me to lie for her like that."

"Harvey…"

"I know." He sighed. "You think I need to let go of my anger towards my mom."

"Well…maybe. But that's not what I was going to say this time." She shook her head. "I was going to say that I know your childhood wasn't perfect. You know that mine wasn't either. And I can understand how everything that happened could make you question your own ability to be a good parent. But you have to trust me when I tell you this. You could be a great father, if you wanted to be. But I'm not sure you want to."

She paused for a moment. "And honestly, I've been thinking about this a lot lately too. I'm done trying to convince you to do something you don't want to do and clearly aren't ready to do. I'm done feeling like I am practically begging you to want to have a baby with me. You said that having kids wasn't as simple as a yes or a no answer. But you're wrong."

She chuckled softly. "It is a yes or a no question. You're either ready and willing or you aren't. And you aren't."

"I want to be." He said quietly. "I don't think you understand how much I want to be ready and willing. I want to give you everything you have ever wanted and I know you want kids. But…"

"It's ok." She said.

He could see she was trying not to cry and he hated being the reason for it. "Rebecca…"

"Harvey…please. Stop for a moment. Ok? I love you." She told him. "And what I told you in that hammock is as true today as it was then. I'm going to love you no matter what you do or what you say. If we end up not having kids, then I'll find a way to make peace with that because at least I'll still have you. While I can live without kids. I can't live without you. So the last thing I want to do is make this into such a big issue between us that it tears us apart."

"I don't want that either." He assured her.

"Good." She gave him a small smile. "So can you please do me a favor and stop talking about it tonight? It's my birthday and I'd like to be happy. Hell, I just made name partner and we're off on a romantic trip. Can't we just have a good time?"

"Ok." He nodded. "We can stop talking about it."

"Thank you." She smiled, leaning in and kissing him.


	18. Chapter 18

Skyfall

Chapter Eighteen

Later that night, Harvey stood on the balcony of the bedroom. He had a glass of scotch in his hand and was staring up at the sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight so all of the stars were visible.

After dinner they had sex and then ate her birthday cake. After another round of sex she fell asleep. He tried to go to sleep but found that it was difficult so he carefully slipped out of bed and came out to the balcony.

He didn't expect Rebecca to give up about having kids. The fact that she said she would give up her dream of having kids for him meant a lot. He knew from the look in her eyes when she said it that she meant it, though she shouldn't have to make that choice. She was meant to be a mom. Could he really deny her that just because he was scared?

He thought back to before they got married. He had freaked out about getting married and tried to convince her to just live together without putting the marriage label on their relationship. But she pushed him on the reason behind the sudden shift, causing him to explain himself.

It wasn't fair to her that she had to put up with his neurotic freak out.

 _Harvey woke up one morning and left the bedroom to find Rebecca at the table with piles of papers all around her. "What are you up to?"_

" _Just some last minute wedding details that need to be figured out." She said. "I'm so thankful you didn't want to have a very big wedding, but I'm starting to think maybe we should have hired a wedding planner because there are still a lot of tiny details to go over and they are driving me crazy. And I can't rely on Donna to do everything because I feel like she has done more than her fair share of helping already."_

 _He came over to her and kissed the top of her head. "Well we could just not get married. That would solve the planning issues."_

 _She laughed. "Yeah…not get married. That's a good one."_

" _It wasn't a joke. I was actually kind of serious." He told her, watching as she looked up at him._

" _What do you mean you were kind of serious?" She asked._

" _I've just been thinking about it and wondering if we really need to get married."_

" _Harvey, we're supposed to get married in two weeks. Is there something you aren't telling me?"_

 _He was silent because he wasn't sure what to say at this point._

" _Do you still want to get married?" She asked._

" _I…I love you and I know I want to be with you forever. Let's get that straightened out." He started to explain. "But I have been thinking lately that maybe we don't actually have to get married. Maybe we could just live together and be together without the label."_

 _He watched as the look on her face didn't change. She was still looking at him like she wanted to strangle him._

" _Ok. What's going on here?" She asked in a softer tone._

" _What do you mean?" He asked._

" _Something must have triggered this freak out." She explained. "What was it? Did I do something? Did I say something? Did someone else say something? What exactly happened? Because I know you were excited about marrying me before. Now all of a sudden you want me call it all off. So why? What happened to make you freak out like this?"_

" _Nothing happened and no one is responsible for this." He assured her._

" _Well something has obviously happened!" She sighed. Without another word she closed the gap between them and threw her arms around his neck. "Look, I love you Harvey and I'm here for you. But I won't lie. I want to be your wife. I don't want to just be some woman who lives with you and sleeps with you every night. And I thought this was what you wanted to when you proposed. So what can we do to make this better and help you get over this?"_

" _I'm just scared." He finally admitted out-loud._

" _What are you scared of?" She asked, moving her arms to her sides. "Is it me?"_

" _I'm not scared of you." He caressed her cheek and gave her a small smile._

" _Well good." She smiled. "Because you have nothing to be scared of with me. I'm in this forever with you. You are stuck with me. You jump…I jump, Jack."_

 _He laughed at her Titanic reference. "I know."_

" _So if you aren't scared of me, is it the wedding itself?" She questioned._

" _You know I usually loved attention. But the idea of standing up in front of people and being vulnerable in front of them…professing my undying love to you…it's making me panic. I'm scared of it. I know it's irrational but it's the truth."_

" _Ok." She nodded. "I know you never wanted a large wedding and that's fine. But I thought we had scaled it back enough to only include the people that matter the most to us. Do we need to make it smaller?"_

" _We can't make it any smaller without hurting people's feelings." He pointed out with a chuckle. "The guest list has already been cut down to 25 people. We cut it down any more than that and we might as well elope."_

" _Would that help?" She asked. "Because if it would help, I'd gladly elope with you. I'd elope with you right now."_

" _You'd elope?"_

" _Absolutely." She nodded without a moment of hesitation. "Would that help?"_

" _It would actually." He nodded after thinking about it for a moment. "It didn't register with me until recently that we'd be standing in front of everyone declaring our feelings about each other for everyone to hear. It's kind of my worst nightmare."_

" _Because you don't like to be vulnerable around others." She surmised._

" _And I know that we pared the guest list down to just the people that are most important to us. But even the thought of standing in front of them and professing my love for you freaks me out." He explained._

" _Ok. You do realize that everyone we have invited to the wedding already knows that you are incredibly in love with me and can't live without me anyway though, right?" She teased, winking at him._

 _He chuckled. "I know. But for some reason it still freaks me out."_

" _Ok." She nodded. "So let's elope then."_

" _I don't want to do that to you." He shook his head. "I know how hard you have worked on this wedding with Donna and I know you have been looking forward to it."_

" _Actually…" She chuckled. "Donna has been doing most of the planning. And I have been looking forward to being your wife more than the actual wedding ceremony. There are only three things I care about concerning this wedding. They are wearing my wedding dress, saying I do, and going on our honeymoon so we can spend a whole week together with absolutely no interruptions from anyone. The first two things I can do anytime…anywhere."_

" _Are you sure?" He asked._

" _Harvey…" She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "I'd marry you today if I could. To me getting married isn't about doing it in front of the people you care about, it's about making a commitment to the person you care about the most. To me, that person is you."_

It wasn't fair to her that she missed out on getting a real wedding because he was panicking, just like it wasn't fair to her to keep her from being a mom because he was panicking. He knew what he had to do.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you in bed?"

He heard Rebecca's sleepy voice come up from behind him so he turned around. "I couldn't sleep. But you should go back to bed and get some sleep."

"No." She shook her head and took a deep breath. "Too late. I'm up. So tell me. Why can't you sleep?"

"I've just got a lot on my mind." He explained.

"Like what?" She yawned.

"It can wait until tomorrow." He assured her. "You should go back to bed."

"I don't want to." She shook her head. "I don't want to be in that big bed all alone, especially now that I know something is bothering you."

He could see that she was starting to wake up fully and felt bad that she was missing out on sleep. "I was just thinking about our conversation from dinner tonight."

"Oh." She chuckled before taking his drink and chugging the rest of it. "This again?"

"Yeah." He nodded, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him.

"I thought we settled that."

"I don't want to be the reason you don't get to be a mom."

"Harvey…I thought we also agreed to not talk about this on my birthday."

"We did." He nodded. "But technically it is after midnight and isn't your birthday anymore."

"Damn technicality." She laughed.

"It still bothers me."

He watched her close her eyes and sigh deeply.

"I don't know what else you could possibly want from me." She told him. "I'm being as supportive and understanding as I can possibly be."

"I know that. You're being amazing about this." He assured her. "But it isn't about you. It's about me. You told me that you would be ok without having kids as long as you had me. Were you telling the truth?"

"Of course I was." She kissed his cheek. "I love you Harvey. I meant every word."

"Then give me six months."

"Six months for what?" She questioned.

"To wrap my head around fatherhood." He explained. "Give me six months before we try to have kids."

"Are you sure about this?" She asked in a soft voice.

"I'm sure." He nodded.

"Don't joke with me about this."

"It's not a joke." He told her. "The world deserves a little girl who is just like you."

"Or a little boy just like you?" She grinned.

"I love you Rebecca."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "What made you decide to do this?"

"I thought back to our wedding day and I realized that between that time and others, you have consistently let your desires take a backseat to my freak-outs. I don't want this to be one of those times." He explained. "I want to give you everything you want in this world and everything you deserve."

"While I appreciate that more than you know, I don't want you to put yourself in a position where you're going to have kids with me simply because you think that will make me happy. We both have to want this or else it's just going to backfire later on. I don't want to push you into anything that you aren't ready for or don't want. Having kids is a big responsibility. It's not like getting a puppy."

"You aren't pushing me into anything." He promised. "I just need some time before we start trying. That's all. I just need some time to wrap my head around it. Maybe spending some extra time with some kids would help."

"We could always babysit Mike and Rachel's kids. They would love that. We could also go up to Boston to check on Ethan and Olivia a few times." She suggested.

"That sounds like a good plan." He nodded.

"Ok." She nodded. "So you are sure that you want this?"

"I'm sure."

"Harvey…I need you to be completely, 100% honest with me about it. Are you absolutely sure that you are doing this because you want to and not because you want to make me happy?"

"I am 100% positive about this." He explained. "Besides, even if I suck as a father at least they will have one good parent." He leaned in and started to kiss her neck. "You know, since we are both awake now…"

"You want to go find a surface we haven't had sex on yet?" She asked.

"Only if it's something you want as well." He replied.

"I think I know the perfect spot." She grinned.


	19. Chapter 19

Skyfall

Chapter Nineteen

"Ok, so once those elevator doors open I want you to close your eyes." Harvey told her on Monday morning.

She laughed. "Seriously?"

"Yes. I'm serious." He assured her. "I want you to close your eyes."

"Ok." She sighed as the elevator doors dinged for the 50th floor. She closed her eyes like he asked and felt him wrap his arm around her waist. He was gently pushing her out of the elevator, guiding her a few more feet and then turning her ninety degrees before stopping.

She knew what this was about. They must have put her name on the wall during the weekend and Harvey wanted to do some kind of dramatic unveiling for her. It was a cute idea so she played along.

"Can I open my eyes now?" She asked.

"Yes." He told her.

She opened her eyes and saw Jessica and Louis on the left side of the nameplate, while Donna, Rachel and Mike were on the right side. In between them were the words Pearson Specter Litt Monroe in shiny letters.

"Wow." She took a look at the lettering and then at her friends. "You guys…this is…wow."

"Congratulations." Jessica stepped forward first with a huge smile on her face. "You've worked hard for this. Don't forget to take the time to enjoy it."

"Thank you." She smiled back, watching as Jessica went back to work and Louis came up to her. He immediately gave her a hug.

"It will be nice to have you there in the name partner meetings." He said. "Just don't always side with Harvey, ok?"

She laughed. "Alright. I'll do my best to remain impartial."

"Oh you don't have to be impartial. You can be biased towards agreeing with me all the time, but not with Harvey." Louis deadpanned.

She laughed again.

After Louis went back to work, Mike and Rachel came over. Rachel gave her a hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks." She smiled. Mike held up his fist for a fist bump.

Donna then came over and gave her a hug.

"I know you have been wanting this for a long time." Donna said. "So when we go to lunch today, you get to choose and I'm buying because I'm proud of you."

"Aw thanks Donna." She smiled at her friend.

Once Donna left, she was standing there with just Harvey next to her.

"It's quite a sight to see the first time, isn't it?" He asked, grabbing a hold of her hand.

"It sure is." She agreed, tearing her eyes away from it to look at him. "I still can't believe it is real. It feels like a dream."

"Oh it's definitely real." He told her. "Welcome to the name partner club."

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Oh, and just so you know…we may want to leave a little early tonight because I'm taking you out to celebrate."

"Really?" Her smiled got wider. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He whispered in her ear before walking towards his office.

She followed him. "You won't even give me a hint?"

"Nope." He laughed.

"Fine." She laughed.

* * *

Rebecca was doing some work later when Louis appeared in her doorway. "Hey." She smiled.

"Do you have a second?" He asked.

"Sure. What's up?" She watched as he came into her office and placed two things on her desk. The first was a business card for her with the firm's new name. The second was a very nice looking pen. "Louis…thank you. But you didn't have to do this."

"I know." He said, sitting down across from her desk. "But I wanted to show you that I'm thrilled to have you as a fellow name partner."

"Well thank you." She smiled widely at her friend. "Since you are here, can I ask you something and get your honest opinion?"

"Of course." He nodded.

"I asked Harvey this and it's not that I don't trust him. I do. I trust him with my life. But there's no denying that he is more than a little biased when it comes to me."

"That's the understatement of the century." He laughed. "What do you want to know?"

"Do you think there was even a small part of Jessica that agreed to make me a name partner because I know about Mike? I just…I know that was part of why she hired me in the first place. But do you think it had anything to do with her decision?"

He got up and closed her office door before coming back and sitting down. "Did I ever tell you how I became a name partner?"

"No." She shook her head.

"I had just found out about Mike being a fraud and I used that information to blackmail Jessica into making me a name partner." He explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's not something I'm particularly proud of, but it did happen. I was hurt and tired of feeling like I was being passed over for something I know I earned. I saw an opportunity and I grabbed onto it. I'll always be sorry for how it happened but I'll never be sorry for the end result."

"Louis…"

"Do you know how Harvey became a name partner?"

"All he told me was that it was during the time they were merged with Darby." She explained.

"That's true. But the real reason Jessica made him a name partner is because she wanted to get him on her side for the fight that was coming with Darby to unmerge. They had a falling out previously because he was trying to get her kicked out of being managing partner." Louis pointed out.

"Really?" She didn't know that.

"Yes." Louis nodded. "Let me ask you a question, and be completely honest. Do you think that Harvey deserved to be made a name partner?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. I do."

"And what about me? Did I deserve to be a name partner?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Yes."

"You deserve it too." He told her. "So the underlying reasons and how it happens don't matter. Look, I don't know if you knowing Mike's secret had anything to do with you getting name partner. But I do know you have worked your ass off since day one here. So my advice to you is to take it as a win and don't second guess it."

She smiled at him. "Thank you Louis."

"Anytime." He smiled back.

* * *

"God, you are beautiful." He told her, coming up behind her and wrapping his arm around her waist. He was watching as she put the final touches on her hair, sweeping it off of her neck and couldn't help it. He had to go over and kiss the now-exposed skin.

"Harvey…" She chuckled softly. "If you continue that, we aren't leaving this room for the rest of the night."

"Right." He placed a few more kisses on her neck before stopping. "Ok. I guess I'll stop."

She turned around and pressed herself against him. "Don't worry…there will be plenty of time for that later."

He chuckled. "One of these days, you're going to be the death of me."

She grinned, letting her hand lightly graze past his groin. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Then she turned around, grabbed her purse and headed out of the bedroom.

"Yeah." He sighed, trying to calm his now elevated heart rate. "You'll definitely be the death of me. But what a way to go."

* * *

Although they had been seated at their table for ten minutes now, she couldn't help but continue to look around. He had brought her to the One if by land, Two if by Sea restaurant, which was widely known as one of the most romantic restaurants in the world.

"I take it you like this place?" He smiled.

"It's beautiful." She smiled back. Between the wooden floor, intricate glass chandeliers and wood fireplaces it was a sight to behold. And they were seated next to a large floor to ceiling window that showcased a magnificent garden.

He reached across the table and grabbed a hold of her hand. "I figured it isn't every day that you finish your first official day as a name partner at the best law firm in New York City. We should celebrate it in style."

"That's sweet of you." She smiled.

"We've had a rough couple of months." He paused. "But things are starting to turn around for the better and we're going to come out of this stronger."

"Absolutely! Things have got to get better." She agreed, raising her glass to clink with his.

"So, there is something I wanted to discuss with you now that you are a name partner."

"Ok." She nodded. "What is it?"

"Well normally name partners get their office upgraded to a corner one."

"Oh." The smile on her face faded a little. She should have expected that.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted a new office or not."

"Do I have to get a new office?" She chuckled. "I kind of like being right next to you all day long."

"No." He shook his head. "There is absolutely no reason why you can stay in that office."

"Good."

He smiled. "I'm glad, because I also like having you right next door."

She smiled back. "Well then that's settled. I'll just keep my current office. So is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"No." He shook his head. "That was the only thing."

"Ok, good because there is something I wanted to talk about."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Are you sure you are ok with me not using Specter as my professional name?"

"Of course I am. I have always supported your decision to do that." He nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"It just feels weird sometimes because the majority of people I deal with on a daily basis still call me by my old last name." She explained.

"Are you regretting your decision to keep your last name?"

"Sometimes I do regret it." She admitted. "But now I start to think that if I hadn't kept my last name, we'd be working at Pearson Specter Litt Specter, which just sounds odd."

He laughed. "Yeah. That does sound weird. It sounds like we forgot if we said the first Specter so we added one at the end just to cover our bases."

"I know, right?" She laughed.

He reached across the table and grabbed a hold of her hand. "You are a Specter in every way that counts. It says Specter on your drivers' license and everything else that isn't work related. So don't ever doubt that you are part of my family, because I don't doubt it. I don't give it a second thought. Hell, you could come up with an entirely new last name to go by professionally and I still wouldn't care because at the end of the day I know you are my wife."

She smiled back at him. "That's a very good answer, Mr. Specter."

"Why thank you, Mrs. Specter." He smirked.

* * *

After dinner they got back in the car. It wasn't until a few minutes later that she realized they weren't going back home. "Are we going somewhere else?"

"Yes we are." He nodded.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"It's a surprise." He chuckled.

It didn't take them long to pull up to their next destination. She had been looking out the window and then turned to face him with a huge smile on her face. He loved being the one to put the smile on her face.

"We haven't been here in ages."

"I know." He nodded, getting out of the car first and walking over and opening her car door. He held out his hand for her to grab as she got out of the car. They walked into The Hotspot.

"I'm actually trying to remember the last time we were here and I can't remember." She sighed.

"I believe it was about six months ago." He reminded her as they approached an empty booth.

"Has it really been that long?" She chuckled. "Wow."

"So this was a good surprise?"

She leaned over and gave him a kiss. "It was a wonderful surprise. You're getting quite good at them."

"I learned from the best." He grinned before moving in for another kiss.


	20. Chapter 20

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty

"So I'm moving in with Charles this weekend." Donna casually mentioned.

Rebecca, who was leaning against Donna's desk, smiled widely. "You guys finally picked a place?"

"Yes." Donna laughed. "It took us three weeks to find an apartment that both of us could live in without being unhappy. If I had to go to one more damn open house or look at one more damn feature sheet I think I might have screamed."

She laughed. "How many places did you end up having to check out?"

"28." Donna groaned.

"Wow." She paused. "You know, you've been much happier since you met him and I'm so glad to see it. He really makes you happy, doesn't he?"

"He does." Donna started to blush. "I don't want to jinx anything but I think he could be someone I could potentially want to marry."

"That's wonderful!" She truly was happy for her friend. While she still worried about the fact that Charles was a former FBI agent, she did like him. He seemed like a nice guy and as long as he made her friend happy she would be fine with him.

Rebecca noticed that Donna was staring at something behind her. She turned around to see a man walking towards them.

"Whatever you're selling, we don't want any so you can leave right now." Donna told the man.

"Donna…it's been far too long since I saw you last." The man greeted.

"It hasn't been long enough for me." Donna sighed.

"And who is this stunning creature?" He held out his hand for her to shake. "My name is Travis Tanner."

It only took her a moment to remember that name. This was the jerk Harvey told her about who kept inserting himself into cases against him. She rolled her eyes and refused to shake his hand. "I'm someone who isn't interested in whatever you're selling as well."

"Maybe you should leave before I tell Harvey you were hitting on his wife. That is, unless you want him to beat the shit out of you again." Donna told Tanner.

"Wife?" Tanner laughed. "Wow. Never thought Harvey would settle down with anyone. But good for him. Anyway, I need to see him about something. It won't take long."

Rebecca saw Harvey getting up from his desk. He must have seen what was going on and decided to come out here.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked in a booming voice.

"I'm just getting to know your lovely wife before I came in to see you." Tanner smirked.

"Come in." He pointed to his office. Then he looked over at them. "Don't listen in this time. I'm serious."

She looked over at Donna. "Aren't you still going to listen in?"

"I want to…" Donna sighed. "But I did agree not to listen in if he tells me not to."

"Since when did you agree to that?" She chuckled.

"It was a few years ago. It was shortly after the incident where you came into his office and offered to…well do something that he would have loved but would have been embarrassing to listen in on…"

"Ok. I got it." She cut off her friends' explanation. It made her chuckle to know that after her massively embarrassing moment of offering to give Harvey a blow job in his office while Donna listened in, he made Donna agree not to listen in on everything that happened in his office.

"So, you got married?" Tanner chuckled. "I didn't think you were the type to settle down. What's next? The pitter patter of tiny footprints? You going to knock her up soon?"

"Tanner, the faster tell me the reason you're here the faster you can leave. So let's speed this up." Harvey sighed.

"Ok. I'm filing a lawsuit today against one of your firms' clients, as well as one of your firms' name partners. I figured the sporting thing to do would be to come down here and let you know before it happens."

"Since when did you find a firm willing to take you on?" He asked with a deep chuckle. "Last I heard you were practically blacklisted in this town because everyone knew what a fraud you were."

"There's always a place for a good lawyer, even when they are blacklisted." Tanner scoffed and then looked out there at Rebecca. "I mean, your lovely wife is a prime example of that fact. I believe she was blacklisted and then she magically ended up at your firm…though I imagine the fact that you were sleeping with her at the time probably helped. I didn't have to sleep with anyone at my new firm to get my position though."

He stared at Tanner, trying not to beat him into the ground for the things he was implying. Then realized where he was working. "You're with Florrick and James now, aren't you?"

"You are correct." He chuckled. "Her old law firm hired me."

"Prepare to be fired again." Harvey told him. "So which client of mine are you coming after this time?"

"Oh, no you misunderstood." He grinned. "I'm not coming after you this time." He turned to look out towards Donna's desk. "I'm coming after someone else this time."

"You're going after Rebecca."

"Bingo." Tanner chuckled. "I'm coming after Pearson Specter Litt Monroe's newest name partner. Though I am surprised that you let her keep her maiden name. I would have pegged you for the type to tell her she needs to take your name. I guess you are more modern than I gave you credit for."

"That's a bad idea to come after Rebecca." He warned, ignoring the taunt about Rebecca's last name. "Which client are you coming after?"

"Maybe it is a bad idea. And then again, maybe not. I believe my case is solid. But that's all I'll say about it. She'll get served soon enough and so will her client. Then you will have all the details. I really hope you're up to the challenge of fighting against me. And what I mean by that is I hope that the domesticated life you've chosen hasn't neutered you as a lawyer because the fight wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable and your wife is going to need a good attorney to try and get her out of this mess. Anyway, we'll be talking again soon. It was nice to see you again, Harv."

* * *

Rebecca watched Tanner come out of Harvey's office with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Nice to see you ladies. I'm sure we will be meeting again soon. Have a great day, Mrs. Specter." He smiled on his way out.

She saw Harvey walk over to the window, shoving his hands in his pockets. She knew that pose. He did that when he was upset. She exchanged a worried glance with Donna before she went in and stood next to him. "You ok?"

"I'm fine." He said gruffly.

"What did he want?"

"He's working at your old firm."

"Why does that not surprise me?" She chuckled before being quiet for a moment. She knew from the stories he told her that Travis Tanner seemed almost obsessed with getting the upper hand with Harvey. It would make sense that the lawyer would join her old firm as a way to mess with Harvey's head. Then she had a thought.

"Do you think they hired him because I took United Financial away from them?"

"If I had to guess, I would say yes." He nodded.

"Shit." She looked at him closely. "That's not all he was here to say though, was it? Something else is going on because you wouldn't be this upset about him working for my old firm."

"He came to tell me that he is filing a lawsuit against you and one of your clients." He sighed.

"What?" That didn't make much sense to her. "Which client? And what could he possibly be filing a lawsuit about?"

"I don't know." Harvey shook his head and looked over at her. "He wouldn't say. He just wanted to warn me and let me know that he expected me to be at the top of my game."

"Well I guess you'll just have to kick his ass twice as hard this time, which won't be that hard because I'll be fighting right alongside you."

He looked over at her and gave her a small smile.

"It will be fine." She kissed his cheek. "Whatever lawsuit he files is bound to be bullshit and we'll fight it off."

While she tried to plaster a smile on her face, she was mentally going through all of her clients and trying to figure out who Tanner could be filing a lawsuit against. The obvious choice would be United Financial since he joined her old law firm. He might be trying to claim that she broke confidentiality and passed along insider information from her time at Consolidated Financial. But that would be a lie because she never violated confidentiality and she wasn't sure he would try to claim that because it would be too hard to make a case.

He could be making any kind of claim at this point so she gave up trying to figure it out. She would find out when she got served. Right now she had to put on a brave face because Harvey seemed worried and they both couldn't freak out at the same time.

* * *

Harvey went into Jessica's office and sat down. "Travis Tanner is back."

"Wonderful." Jessica sighed. "What does he want this time?"

"He is going after Rebecca and one of her clients."

"Harvey…" She put her pen down. "You need to be careful how you approach this. Need I remind you what happened during that deposition?"

"You mean the one where I gave him what he deserved?" He chuckled.

"I mean the one where you punched him and he could have filed charges against you." Jessica pointed out. "Although it was extremely satisfying to see you punch him, it was the wrong thing to do. I know Rebecca is your soft spot so you need to tread lightly."

"She wants to help with the case." He explained. "I'm not sure it is a good idea. You know how Tanner gets. Like you said, she is my soft spot. I know he is already aware of that."

"Well then I guess you need to decide if you feel like you can work with her on this or not, knowing that Tanner will try to attack her at every angle." Jessica advised.

* * *

"I now know who the client is." Rebecca said she came into Harvey's office later that day. She threw the paperwork in her hand onto his desk and then walked over to the window.

"He's going after the Yankees?" He asked after looking at the paperwork.

"Yes." She sighed. "He is suing because he thinks both the Yankees organization and I covered up the sexual harassment and wrongful termination of a woman within the organization that worked with Brian Cushman."

"Did you?" He asked softly.

She turned to look at him. "It's a grey area. I may have some exposure. I arranged for confidentiality agreements between Brian and two women in exchange for a payout. But it was all legal and they wouldn't jeopardize the settlement by filing a lawsuit. I need to go talk to Brian and find out more about who this woman who filed the lawsuit could be."

"I'm not sure you should go over there alone." He advised. "I think I should go with you."

"Are you going as my husband or my lawyer?" She asked.

"Lawyer first this time." He told her. "Husband second."

"Alright." She sighed.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. "Hey. You know I won't let anything happen to you with this lawsuit, right?"

"Of course I do." She gave him a small smile and kissed his cheek. "Let's go."


	21. Chapter 21

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-One

"Rebecca…tell me you have a plan for this to make it all magically go away." Brian greeted as soon as she walked through the door with Harvey right behind her.

"Don't worry. I'm working on a plan right now." She assured him. "Brian, let me introduce you to Harvey Specter."

"Nice to meet you." Brian sighed before turning back to Rebecca. "Can I speak freely in front of him?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I trust him completely and I have no secrets from him."

"Ok. If you trust him, that's good enough for me." Brian nodded. "Do you think this was Alyssa or Morgan?"

"I honestly don't think it was either of them." She shook her head. "They seemed happy with the settlements they got and they both understood that the paperwork they signed would keep them from being able to talk about what happened and filing a lawsuit. Plus they know if they do, then we can sue them."

"Then who could it be?" Brian asked.

"I want you think very carefully and be completely honest." Harvey spoke up. "How many women in this organization have you slept with and how many of them could be the ones filing this lawsuit?"

"I'm not sure I want to disclose that…"

"It's either you disclose it to us now or we get blindsided by it later. If we get blindsided by it, I can't guarantee I can help you. I need total honesty about everything or this won't work." Harvey pointed out. "So what's the number?"

"I think the number is somewhere between 12-18 over the last fifteen years." Brian answered. "But not many of them worked for me. Maybe four or five have worked for me. And of those, all of them signed some kind of non-disclosure agreement. The only person I can think of that would want to sue for wrongful termination is Nicole."

"Who is she?" Harvey asked.

"She worked in the marketing department."

"Why was Nicole fired?" She asked.

"She had a problem being here on time. She was chronically late. If she wasn't late, then she was leaving early. I gave her three months and then I had let her go." Brian explained.

"Was it noted in her employee file?" Harvey asked.

"I believe so but I don't know off the top of my head." Brian admitted. "Are you guys going to be able to help me? I'm getting a lot of pressure from the top about this already. I need it to go away as quickly and quietly as possible."

"We'll do our best." She assured him.

"What she means is I'll do my best." Harvey interjected. "Rebecca is named as a defendant. I don't want her anywhere near this case so I'm taking over."

She looked over at him and glared. They would be talking about that later.

"Ok. Just let me know what you need from me and I'll give it to you." Brian sighed.

"I need the names of every woman in this organization you have ever slept with, as well as their employee files. And I'll need it by the end of the day." Harvey told him. "So you better get started."

She followed Harvey out of the room and stayed behind him as they walked to the elevator. She thought they would be able to talk once in the privacy of the elevator but at the last second another person came in so she stayed quiet. It wasn't until they got back into Ray's car that she started to talk.

"You don't want me anywhere near this case and you're taking it over?" She asked. "Since when?"

"Since I thought about it in the car ride over here and realized that Tanner is only coming after you to get to me and I need you as far away from him as possible." He answered, looking over at her.

"I am a grown woman and can take care of myself."

"I know that." He sighed. "But you don't know Travis Tanner. He is like a dog with a bone. He will try anything to get into your head and if that doesn't work then he will destroy you to get to me."

"I can handle a guy like him." She protested.

"Did you miss what I just said? He is like a pit bull and won't stop coming after you until you are shredded into tiny pieces." He asked. "Just let me handle this myself."

"What happened to being a team?" She scoffed.

"We're still a team." He reached over to grab her hand but she pulled it away. "Rebecca…"

They pulled up to the office and she got out and shut the door afterwards.

"Where are you going?" He asked, rolling down the window to talk to her.

"I need to be somewhere else right now. You're being a little too condescending." She poked her head into the car and looked at Ray. "Would you mind please driving him around the block a couple of times? I don't want to have to be on the same elevator with him right now."

Ray laughed, locking the doors. "Sure thing."

"Thank you." She closed the door and saw Ray drive off before Harvey could get out of the car.

* * *

Rebecca approached her office, stopping when Donna called her name.

"Rebecca! I thought Harvey went with you."

She went over to Donna's desk. "He did. I had Ray drive him around the block a couple of times."

Donna laughed. "What did Harvey do to piss you off this time?"

"He told me he doesn't want me working on the Tanner case, even though Brian is my client and I know more about this case than he does." She complained. "He also feels like I can't handle Travis Tanner's tricks. It's condescending." She looked over at Donna, expecting to see her support, but instead she saw Donna grimace.

"Don't tell me you agree with him." She groaned. "Donna…"

"I am staying out of it, except to say I can see where both of you are coming from." Donna chuckled.

"But I'm right…" She said. "Right?"

"I see where both of you are coming from." Donna repeated.

"Traitor." Rebecca laughed as she went into her office.

* * *

Harvey walked towards Rebecca's office, only stopping when Donna called out his name.

"Harvey!"

He turned and gave her a smile.

"Ah, I see you got her favorite coffee drink." Donna smiled. "Making up for something?"

"Something tells me you already know that." He chuckled.

"Good luck." Donna smiled back. "You'll need it. But something tells me you already know that."

He didn't bother to knock on Rebecca's door. Instead he just entered her office and placed the drink on her desk before sitting down. He watched as she looked at the drink and then him, before looking at the drink again.

"It's not poisoned, is it?" She finally asked, reaching over and grabbing it.

"No." He chuckled. "I would never do that to you. I'd only poison your food, not your drinks."

He could see that despite her anger, she couldn't help but smile at his joke.

"Even though I had Ray hold you hostage in the car?" She chuckled. "I know you don't like it when I do that."

"No, I don't like that." He admitted, unable to keep from laughing. "I also don't like that he now listens to you more than he does me. I tried to get him to let me out anyway but he refused, claiming loyalty to you. How the hell did that happen? He was my driver first."

"He just likes me better." She smirked.

"Obviously." He laughed. "Do you have some kind of special language with him? You said drive around a couple of times, but he drove around that damn block twenty five times."

"Oh! He must have known I was really angry with you. I'll have to do something nice for him." She grinned. "I'm sorry though."

"I'm sorry too." He apologized. "Hence why I brought you the drink. It's a peace offering of sorts."

"Can you see why I'm angry?" She asked.

"I can." He nodded. "You want to help me put Tanner in the grave on this. I appreciate it and I understand it. But I don't think it is a good idea."

"Because I'm also a defendant?" She asked. "May I point out that I have helped with my own case before?"

"I know that."

"So then let me help on this."

"I can't." He shook his head. "Tanner is using you to get to me. We both agree on that, right?"

"Right."

"Can't you see how I don't want you any more connected to this case than you have to be?" He asked. "If you are a part of this case and helping out, then he is just going to keep coming after you even more. And I can't sit by and watch that happen to you. There have been too many other times that my enemies have used you to come after me. I can't watch it happen again."

She sighed deeply and got up from her chair. Walking around her desk, she sat on his lap.

"I thought this violated your no PDA in the office rule." He smirked.

"I'm capable of making exceptions from time to time." She grinned back. "Look Harvey, people are going to come after me to get to you because they know I mean something to you. I'm not going to lie and say this will be the last time. You tend to be very polarizing and some people love to hate you. But we need to be on the same page about this. We need to fight back together. We'll show anyone who challenges us that we are stronger than they are and we will destroy them."

"You're really sexy when you talk about destroying people." He leaned in for a quick kiss.

"You're just now learning that?" She winked.

"Sometimes I just need a little reminding." He chuckled.

"I'll remind you anytime you want. So can we be in agreement that we'll work on this together?"

"Alright." He conceded.

"Wonderful." She then leaned in close to his ear. "Now that we have that settled, do you want to meet me in the file room in ten minutes?"

"Hell yes I do." He whispered back.


	22. Chapter 22

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Are you ready for this deposition?" Harvey asked Rebecca after coming into her office. They were scheduled to have her deposition with Tanner in a few minutes and he couldn't help but be nervous about it. He knew that Tanner was going to use every trick in the book to fluster her. That's why they had practiced last night. Tanner filed the lawsuit five days ago and they decided to fast track the case to get it over with quicker.

"I'm ready." She assured him, coming up to him and giving his cheek a kiss. "Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl and can handle myself."

"I know." He nodded. "But the last time I was in a deposition with him, he brought up my mom and I ended up punching him. At the time I thought I was ready too, but look what happened."

"It will be fine." She smiled at him and led the way to the conference room. "I promise not to punch him."

"Ah wonderful!" Tanner greeted. "We can get started because you are on time."

"Let's get this over with." Harvey sighed, sitting down next to Rebecca.

"Oh come on Harv…it really hurts my feelings that you don't seem to want to spend time with me." Tanner laughed.

"I'm sure you'll get over it." Harvey rolled his eyes.

"So, Ms. Monroe…or I'm sorry. Do you want to be called Mrs. Specter today? It's hard to know which name you want to be called."

"Just call me Rebecca." She told him in a calm voice.

"Alright, Rebecca, did you or did you not pursue Brian Cushman as a client originally as a way to solicit favors so you could advance your relationship with Harvey Specter?" Tanner asked.

She looked at Tanner and then looked at Harvey out of the corner of her eye. "What would that possibly have to do with this lawsuit?"

"It would show that you have been in cahoots with Mr. Cushman since the beginning of your professional relationship." Tanner explained.

"Objection…" Harvey spoke up. "Cahoots? Try using some better words."

Tanner smiled. "You didn't answer the question. Did you sign him to use his connections in an attempt to seduce Harvey Specter?"

She laughed. "You obviously don't have very good intel. I had already seduced Harvey Specter by that time and we were already in a relationship so no, I didn't use those connections to seduce him. I set up a nice date for him at Yankee Stadium with the help of Mr. Cushman, but it wasn't a part of any client agreement and I certainly wasn't in cahoots with him."

She knew it was a thin line she was walking right now between the truth and perjury. But she didn't know where Tanner was going with this so she wasn't about to outright admit that she only signed Brian for that reason.

"Ok." Tanner nodded. "Either way I think the nice date ended up working pretty well for you. You actually managed to get Harvey Specter to marry you. I'm impressed because no one really thought he would ever have a serious girlfriend, let alone ever get married. You must be one hell of a women to get him to say I do. But tell me something because I am curious. Do you really think you can domesticate him for very long? Do you really think you'll live some fairytale life with 2.5 kids, a dog and a white picket fence? You'll join the PTA and Harvey will be flipping burgers for the neighbors on the weekends?"

"If you think that will ever happen, you must be the president of fantasy land. Because I can tell you right now that will never happen. It's not who Harvey is at his core. At some point Harvey is going to get tired of playing house. He will get bored with you and the monotony of monogamy. His family will start to hang around his neck like a noose and he will be screaming to get out. And when that happens, he will be gone sooner than you can say Pearson Specter Litt Monr…"

"That's enough." Harvey objected, interrupting Tanner and pounding his fist on the table.

"No. Let him talk." Rebecca said, looking over at Harvey for a moment before settling back on Tanner. While Tanner's words stung and she would deal with the fallout of that later, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting him see her fall apart. She smiled at Tanner.

"I'm so sorry. I thought I knew all of Harvey's closest friends. I didn't realize you were such close friends with Harvey that you know him well enough to know what he wants out of his life." She said, still trying to sound calm.

"And I didn't realize you don't know his true self that well." Tanner smirked. "Did you notice how he isn't springing to your defense and saying that I'm wrong? He just yelled because wanted to shut me up. It must be because he knows better than to lie during a deposition."

"Tanner, I'm warning you." Harvey interjected.

"What are you going to do? You going to hit me again, Harv?" Tanner asked with a chuckle. "I can forgive and forget that once, but you do it twice and I have to report it."

"She's not going to continue answering this line of questioning." Harvey stated plainly.

"Then I'll switch my line of questioning." Tanner nodded. "Did you or did you not set up two deals with two different women where they signed confidentiality agreements in exchange for money and the promise that they wouldn't sue or talk about their sexual harassment claims against your client?"

"That's conjecture." Harvey objected.

"But that's the beauty of these depositions. It gives me a chance to ask questions about things I am conjecturing." Tanner explained.

"She's not answering this line of questioning either."

"Harvey, it's alright." She told him, focusing her attention on Tanner. "I arranged for severance packages for two women who worked for the Yankees' organization."

"But they weren't eligible for severance packages from the company." Tanner pointed out.

"True, but my client felt they deserved compensation for the contributions they made to the organization so he negotiated a severance package on his own using his own money." She explained.

"And you're trying to tell me it wasn't hush money?" Tanner laughed.

"No, it wasn't." She shook her head.

"So what contributions did Alyssa Montgomery and Morgan Fowler make to the organization that Nicole Taylor didn't make? Because she didn't get what you are calling a severance package. She just got fired."

"I am not aware of that information." She shrugged. "My job is simply to facilitate the wishes of my client. In this case my client wanted to give two of them severance packages."

"Is it because she broke up with your client while the other two were the ones who got dumped by Brian Cushman?" Tanner asked.

"Now you're just throwing mud and trying to see what sticks." Harvey argued. "It's embarrassing for you."

"I have a sworn affidavit from Nicole Taylor saying that she was engaged in a sexual relationship with your client but as soon as she tried to call it off, she ended up fired. And there was no bullshit severance package given to her like there was to the other two women." Tanner held up a file. "So what do you have to say about that?"

"We say that this is the end of this deposition." Harvey said, getting up from the table and motioning for her to follow him.

"You can run Harvey, but you can't hide." Tanner called after them as they left the conference room.

She walked behind Harvey all the way back to their offices, but instead of following him into his office she headed towards the elevator. It took him a moment to realize she wasn't going with him, but then she heard him call out to her.

"Where are you going?" He asked, catching up to her.

"I need some fresh air." She replied.

"Ok." He nodded. "I'll come with you."

"No. I also need a moment alone." She turned to look at him as they reached the elevator bank.

"Rebecca…you can't listen to anything Travis Tanner has to say. He is just trying to rattle you."

"I know that." She nodded. "But I still need a moment."

"Alright." He relented, turning to go back to his office.

She pushed the up button for the elevator, choosing to go up to the roof.

* * *

"What happened with the deposition?" Donna asked from the middle of the room as she entered his office.

"Travis went after her, like I knew he would. I think he really rattled her. He preyed upon her fears." He explained.

"I'm sure she will be alright."

"Yeah." He nodded, going over and sitting down in his chair.

"Where did she go?"

"She said she needed to be alone." He answered.

"She doesn't though." Donna reminded him. "If he truly preyed upon her fears, then you need to go find her and make sure she doesn't buy into what he said."

"You think so?" He thought so too, but he didn't want to seem to overly dramatic.

"I know so." Donna nodded.

"I don't know where she went." Then he realized where she was. "Of course. Now I know where she is. Thanks Donna."

"Anytime." She chuckled as he left the office.

* * *

Rebecca stood on the roof and looked out at the city. Sometimes when she needed to think she would come up here and stand in the very spot where Harvey proposed to her. She considered this to be a lucky spot for her and hoped there was still enough luck left in this spot to help her now.

Tanner struck a nerve with her. The things he said about her living in a fantasy land were like swords to her heart. While she didn't want a house with a white picket fence or to be a PTA member, she did want kids. It stung to hear Tanner say she was delusional for thinking Harvey would want that too.

And while they had agreed to wait six months before even trying, a part of her wondered if they actually would start trying after those six months or if there would be some reason pop up that pushed it back. A very small part of her wondered if Harvey said six months as a way to placate her until he could think of a way around it.

She realized that wasn't fair to think that he would do such a thing. That wasn't the type of man he was. Her mind still went there occasionally. Especially right now after hearing Tanner talk in the deposition.

She was also rattled by the affidavit by Nicole Taylor. That was going to hurt them if this went to court. They needed to go back and talk to Brian. She wondered how Nicole knew about Alyssa and Morgan.

She heard the door to the roof open and shut, followed by the sounds of shoes approaching on the gravel. She didn't have to look over to see who was there.

"Hey." He said quietly.

"I thought I told you I needed a moment alone." She chuckled, glancing over at him.

"I gave you a moment…a short moment." He looked over at her and smirked. "Then I thought I'm come check on you."

"I'm fine." She sighed, turning her head to look at the city again.

"You don't come up here when you are fine." He pointed out. "You come up here when you need to think."

"Well I'll be fine in a minute." She stepped away from the ledge and went over to sit on the concrete ledge in the middle of the roof. She wasn't surprised he followed her.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked.

"What's to talk about?" She asked, answering his question with her own question. "He's an ass. That's nothing new."

"At least I didn't punch him this time." He laughed.

She looked over at him and then looked back at the ground.

"Would you rather I did punch him?"

"No." She shook her head. "I just…You could have tried to…"

"To what?"

"I don't know!" She sighed.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you involved in this case." He pointed out. "He knows that you are my weak spot."

"And you still think I can't handle him."

"Well you are clearly upset now."

"Yeah, but I didn't let him see that." She argued. "I kept my composure during the deposition and I didn't let him see me sweat, which is what he wanted."

"True. But you're still upset." He pointed out.

"I can't help it if he somehow managed to find my weak spot and exploited it." She pointed out.

"You know that everything he said in there about me…about us…it's not true." He assured her. "You know that, right?"

"I know." She nodded, staring at the ground.

"Rebecca...look at me please."

She looked over at him. "You can relax, Harvey. I know that everything Tanner said was only said in an attempt to get inside my head."

"Good." He smiled at her.

She smiled back at him. "I just needed a moment to clear my thoughts so I can think about this case rationally."

"What are you thinking now?"

"I think we need to go check in with Brian." She told him.

"I couldn't agree more." He nodded.


	23. Chapter 23

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Three

Four days later, Harvey sat in his office, staring at the folder on his desk. He thought back to when he went with Rebecca to Brian's office after her deposition.

" _Did I forget about a meeting?" Brian joked._

" _No." Rebecca shook her head. "I just sat through a deposition with Travis Tanner and he has a signed affidavit from Nicole where she claims to know about Alyssa and Morgan's signed agreements."_

" _So we were wondering how Nicole would know about that." Harvey added._

 _Brian sighed deeply. "I may have let it slip one night when we were together."_

" _Goddammit. I asked you to tell me everything so we wouldn't be blindsided and now you've just blindsided us." Harvey scoffed. "Do you enjoy losing? Because we could lose this case now."_

" _It was an error in judgment." Brian sighed._

That error in judgement was going to cost him a lot.

"Are you almost ready to go home?" He asked when he saw Rebecca enter his office.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'm ready whenever you are. I have some ideas for the case but we can go over them in the car on the way home if you want."

"Can we talk for a moment first?" He motioned for her to sit down.

"Of course. Sounds serious though." She chuckled nervously on her way to sit down. "What's up?"

"Tanner showed up earlier today."

"Really? When?" She questioned. "You didn't mention it earlier."

"It was while you were in court for the Messer hearing this morning." He explained.

"So what did he want?"

"He was dropping off a settlement agreement." Harvey passed the file to her, watching as there was a look of amusement on her face when she read it.

"Well we obviously can't accept this settlement." She refused, throwing it down on the coffee table. "Did you enjoy laughing in his face when you turned it down?"

"I didn't laugh in his face."

"Why not?"

"Don't you see? He's just going to keep coming after you unless we sign it."

"And I'm saying we can't sign it. Signing it is admitting defeat and that's not what we do."

"I told you that nothing would happen to you because of this lawsuit and I meant it. But that affidavit from Nicole could cause you problems with the bar if he turns it in."

"It's a bluff." She told him. "He won't really turn it in."

"It doesn't matter. I want to sign the settlement." He told her.

"And I don't." She scoffed. "We can still beat him."

"I'm not certain we can at this point. Brian already admitted to Nicole that he paid off the other two. The fact that he didn't pay her off as well looks suspicious and I don't think we can win this." He argued. "I also can't stand to see him come after you. You can't deny that you have exposure on this. He could easily introduce the affidavit into evidence and then the bar will see it."

"And I've already told you several times that I didn't do anything illegal. And I can take whatever Travis Tanner or the bar throws at me." She sighed. "But you still think I can't take it and that's just patronizing and condescending."

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way because I have already have this signed by everyone else. All it needs is your signature and it becomes official in the morning."

"You really went behind my back like this?" She scoffed.

"I did what I had to do for my clients." He argued.

"Brian is going to be fired because of the settlement. You can't tell me that is a good thing."

"No. But honestly, he was wrong for having sex with so many of his subordinates. Even if we won this thing, he most likely would have been fired anyway now that his bosses know what was going on. I talked to him about it. He knows that and is willing to own up to his mistakes."

"I can't believe you didn't come to me with this settlement offer before you went and got them to sign off on it." She shook her head. "So I guess all that talk about being a team just flies out the window whenever it suits you?'

"I did this for our team." He argued.

"Bullshit!" She yelled. "I'm a part of this lawsuit too and I'm not signing it. So your precious settlement agreement isn't worth anything."

"You aren't listening to me…"

"I'm listening just fine." She argued. "You think I'm weak and I can't handle Travis Tanner. Ever since the deposition you have been treating me with kid gloves, just waiting for me to break but I haven't. I'm stronger than you think."

"I know you're strong. You're one of the strongest people I know. Goddammit! That's not the issue. Don't you see? I'm the one that can't take it!" He yelled loudly. "I can't sit around and watch him come after you every chance he gets. He is only coming after you because he knows that you are my Achilles' heel. You are my self-destruct button. He can come after me all day long but he won't get any reaction. He goes after you for one minute though and he knows that I want to rip his face off and use it as a Brillo pad. You are my weak spot and he will continue to press it."

"Harvey…"

"Any other time I would say let's fight this til the end. I'd rip up the settlement and throw it in the trash so we could go kick his ass." He sighed. "But I don't want to fight this because it means keeping you in the crosshairs of Travis Tanner. You have exposure here and he could get you in some serious trouble for the settlements you orchestrated for Alyssa and Morgan. And that's something I can't let happen. So please...you can be mad at me all you want, but at the end of the day you have to realize that I am doing this for us. Travis Tanner can be out of our lives for good with just one signature. Just sign the settlement."

"You mean until the next time he figures out some other bullshit lawsuit to lodge against me because he knows you'll just settle to get him to go away." She sighed.

"Rebecca…" He knew she had a point there but he would deal with that if it happened. Right now he needed to get her out of the crosshairs. She had exposure on this case since she orchestrated the confidentiality agreements and the payouts. There was no way he would let Tanner continue to go after her. "After everything that has happened the past couple of months I just don't have the energy to deal with this anymore. I just can't. Please?"

"Ok Harvey." She said softly after a few minutes of silence. "You win. I'll sign it."

He watched as she picked up the pen and scrawled her signature on the settlement agreement. Then she got up and started walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked. "I thought we were going home together."

She turned to look at him and shook her head. "No. You go on home without me. I'll be home later."

He watched her leave and sighed. There was a part of him that wished she had stayed and yelled at him instead of just walking out. But at least he could send the settlement papers over and this whole thing would be finished tomorrow.

* * *

Rebecca walked around aimlessly on the nearly empty floor. It was late and there wasn't anyone still here. Maybe it wasn't fair to send Harvey home by himself. The look on his face when she left told her he was upset about it.

But after everything that happened she felt like she needed a moment to think. She had a lot of emotions swirling around and was worried she would say something she'd end up regretting. She was angry, hurt and strangely honored by his earlier speech.

The anger and hurt came from the fact that she didn't appreciate him cutting her out of the decision making process. He always told her that they needed to be a team and work together as a team. But this was a perfect opportunity for them to be a team and he went off on his own.

The honor came from the fact that she didn't realize he thought of her as his Achilles' heel. It was one of the sweetest compliments he had ever given her. But if she was totally honest she didn't want to be the reason he had to settle lawsuits. She was supposed to be building him up and making him stronger, not becoming a liability.

"What are you still doing here?" Donna asked, suddenly appearing next to her.

"I could ask you the same thing." She laughed. "I would have thought that you would be at home with Charles. Is everything alright with you two?"

"Oh. Yeah. We are fine. He is working a big case tonight so I thought I would get a jump start on stuff for tomorrow because I don't want to have to go home and unpack by myself."

"That's understandable." She smiled.

"You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here this late?"

"I'm hiding out from Harvey." She admitted sheepishly.

"Oh." Donna laughed. "Is this about the settlement?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I really wanted to fight Tanner and beat him to a bloody pulp. But Harvey unilaterally decided against it."

"Did he explain the reasons why?"

"Yeah. And that's why I signed it. I want so badly to be mad at him for it. But I have to admit he has a good reason for it. I just don't completely agree with him."

"He was trying to…"

"I know what he was trying to do, Donna." She sighed, interrupting her friend. "But I really don't like that he made the decision himself. He has done that every step of the way on this case, even though we were supposed to be working together."

"I know." Donna nodded. "Maybe you should just tell him how you feel."

"Again?" She laughed. "I've told him before."

"Keep telling him until you work it out." Donna advised. "But you know, nothing can get worked out if you are here talking to me instead of at home with him."

"You are so right." She smiled at her friend. "Thanks Donna."

"Anytime."

* * *

A short time later, she entered the penthouse and closed the door behind her. After walking the short distance down the hallway she threw her bag on to the kitchen counter. She then searched for Harvey. It didn't take her long to see that he was sitting on the balcony.

It looked like he had a drink already so she stopped and poured herself one before going out there. "Is this seat taken?" She asked, pointing to the chair next to him.

"You don't ever have to ask." He looked over at her and smiled.

"So about earlier…"

"I'm sorry that I ambushed you with the settlement like that." He interrupted her. "I should have talked to you about it before getting the other signatures. I know you probably feel like I backed you into a corner."

"I just was hurt because I thought we were making those kind of decisions together. When you didn't consult me, it made me angry." She shrugged, taking a drink. "But I'm sorry that I got mad at you and tried to make it all about me. I didn't think too much about how this case might have been affected you. That was a little selfish on my part."

"Well I probably could have done a better job communicating it to you." He admitted. "I can see how you would think that I was just being condescending."

"I know if the roles were reversed, I wouldn't want to see someone coming after you like that either." She admitted. "But my anger is really about the fact that you told me we could work as a team on this case and then every time we had a chance to be a team you went behind my back and cut me out of the decision making process."

"Yeah. I guess I did." He admitted. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I just really wanted to protect you from Tanner."

"Tanner doesn't scare me." She laughed. "He rattled me for a moment…made me doubt some things that I shouldn't have doubted…but he doesn't scare me now that I realize what his main issue is."

"And what is his main issue?"

"He is jealous of you." She pointed out. "You have the life he wants. You're name partner at a top law firm, while he just keeps getting bumped around from firm to firm…never staying in one place long enough to advance. You have a proven track record of wins, while he just keeps racking up losses. You are incredibly sexy, while he is definitely not. And let's not forget one of your greatest assets…"

"My mind?" He joked.

She playfully smacked his arm. "I was actually talking about me. But your mind is a great asset too."

"I am well aware that you are one of my greatest, if not the greatest asset I have." He grinned, leaning in for a quick kiss.

"I just don't want to become a liability." She confessed.

"How would you turn into that?" He chuckled.

"I kind of already have." She explained. "It's because of me that you feel like you are forced to settle this case."

"You aren't a liability." He assured her. "I promise."

"Ok." She nodded.

"So are we ok?"

"We're ok." She smiled at him, putting her hand on his leg. "Are you ok?"

"With you by my side? Always." He smiled, grabbing her hand from his leg and bringing it to his lips.

"I'm actually kind of proud of us."

He chuckled. "Why?"

"We have been doing much better lately about arguing and fighting fairly without letting things build up to the point where we have blown up arguments like when we first got together."

"Yeah." He nodded. "God, those arguments were the worst."

"Yeah they were." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I still can't believe you ever forgave me after some of the shit I said to you." He admitted.

"What can I say?" She laughed. "I've been head over heels for you for a long time and even then I knew you were someone special. But look at where we are now. I mean, we still argue and we always will. But we are better about it now."

"We have been doing better about not trying to destroy the other person while angry. I am kind of proud of us too."

She took a drink. "So what do you say we go celebrate that in the bedroom?"

"You never have to ask me twice." He smirked.


	24. Chapter 24

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Four

"You look so sexy right now." Harvey told her, coming over to sit next to her.

She stopped typing on her laptop and looked over at him with a smile on her face. He had been working on something over in the chair across from her. "Harvey…"

"What?" He asked innocently before starting to kiss her neck.

"I know what you are doing but I really need to get this brief done for a case."

"I can make this brief." He promised.

She chuckled. "You always say that, but unless we are in a place where we could get caught by others, your 'brief' always lasts a long time."

"I never hear you complain about the length of time." He smirked, adding in a wink.

"Don't get me wrong…I'm not complaining about it. I'm actually a big fan of how thorough you are. I'm just stating the facts."

"Well here are the facts from where I am sitting. It's early Saturday afternoon. You wouldn't be able to do anything with that brief until Monday anyway so you have plenty of time to finish it."

"I know." She closed her eyes.

He stopped kissing her neck and looked over at her with a huge grin on his face. "Besides, would it be so terrible if I wasn't brief?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I guess not. But look, I'm almost done with this. Can you just give me a couple of minutes?"

"Sure." He winked.

"Thank you." She placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

She started typing again, only to find that Harvey was still right next to her. She looked over and saw he was just staring at her. She chuckled. "Are you just going to stare at me until I'm done?"

"Possibly." He winked again.

She couldn't help but smile. "Ok. I guess this can wait."

"I guarantee you won't regret it."

"Well I never have before." She chuckled.

"Damn right you haven't." He smirked before he picked up the laptop from her lap and placed it on the coffee table. Then he stood up and held out his hand for her to grab before leading her into the bedroom.

"What brought on this sudden desire to drag me in here?" She smirked as he pulled her tank top over her head.

"Do I need a reason to be turned on by my incredibly attractive wife?" He asked.

"I guess not when you put it that way." She chuckled as she pulled his shirt off of him.

* * *

After they were finished, Rebecca cuddled up to him, laying her head on his chest.

"Was that brief enough for you?" He joked.

"That was actually the perfect length." She giggled.

"What do you say we go out to dinner tonight? Maybe we could catch a movie too?" He suggested. "After everything that happened with the Yankees case, as well as our other clients, I feel like we haven't gotten a lot of alone time together that hasn't been all about work. We should change that tonight. Besides, it's been a couple of weeks since we last went out."

She moved to prop herself up and look at him. "That would be amazing. I'd love to."

She had noticed a change in his behavior since Katie's death. He was taking more time to show her that he cared about her. There were little things he was doing and then there were the bigger gestures. The trip to the Finger Lakes, the birthday gift that he himself picked out instead of having Donna do it, the celebration of her first day being a name partner and now this. She suspected it had to be because he was feeling like life was short and he needed to make the most of it.

Either way, she loved it.

"I'll let you pick where we go." He told her.

"Is that because you want to be able to pick the movie?" She grinned, leaning in for a kiss. They had a rule where if they went out for dinner and a movie, one person got to pick the restaurant and then the other got to pick the movie. He usually tried to get her to pick the restaurant so that there was no chance he would get stuck watching a chick flick.

"It may have something to do with it." He chuckled.

"Alright, although I know that means it will be an action movie." She nodded. She was about to say something else when her phone rang. Reaching over to pick it up from the nightstand, she saw it was Lily. "Oh. It's your mom."

He groaned. "Don't take the call right now."

"I really should though." She told him. "We usually only call each other at the beginning of the day or the end of the day…never the middle. I'm sorry. I'll make it quick though."

"Ok." He nodded.

She answered the phone. "Lily. Hey. What's up?" She couldn't help wonder if something was wrong.

"I need you and Harvey to come up to Boston right now." Lily said.

There was something in the tone of Lily's voice that made her blood run cold. Something was wrong and she dreaded finding out what. "Why? What's wrong?"

"It's Marcus…" Lily trailed off. "He picked Olivia up from a sleepover at one of her friends' houses. On the way home he got into a car accident. Both of them are in the hospital right now."

"Oh my God." She got up from the bed and motioned for Harvey to get dressed. "Are they ok?"

"They are still running a bunch of tests on them. I don't think their injuries are life-threatening, but…"

"But what?" She asked.

"Marcus was drunk."

"Shit." She sighed, turning away from Harvey so he couldn't see her face. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I really wish I was." Lily sighed. "He needs a good lawyer, and I don't know of any lawyers better than you and Harvey."

"Ok. Um, we'll be up there as soon as we can. We'll leave now. Keep me up to date on what's happening please."

"I will." Lily assured her.

"What's going on?" Harvey asked after she got on the phone. "What did my mother want?"

"We have to get up to Boston right now." She hurried and started to get dressed.

"Ok." He started to get dressed too. "But you're not telling me anything and I need to know what is happening. Why do we need to go up there and why do you look so panicked?"

By now she was already dressed and was pulling out their suitcases. "We need to make sure Donna and Jessica know what we are doing and we need to be booked on the next flight out to Boston. I'll pack and you work on that."

"Ok, now I know something is majorly wrong when you start barking orders like that." He said, going over and lightly grabbing her by the shoulders. "What are you not telling me?"

She sighed. "Marcus got into a car accident with Olivia in the backseat. They are both in the hospital getting checked out."

"Shit." He nodded. "Are they going to be alright?"

"Your mom said she didn't think the injuries were life-threatening." She explained, getting out of his grasp and starting to pack for them.

"Good." He nodded again. "So we'll go up there, spend the night just to make sure they are alright and then come back tomorrow?"

"We may be up there a little longer than that." She warned, grabbing one of Harvey's suits.

"Why are you packing my suit?" He asked.

"No reason." She shrugged, starting to pick her own clothes. "Just wanting to be prepared."

"Rebecca, you obviously know something else that you aren't telling me." He pointed out. "Tell me now."

She stopped for a moment and turned to look at him. "You aren't going to like it and it will make you furious."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know and I don't like it and it makes me furious." She explained.

"Well not knowing is starting to make me furious. So either way I'm going to be furious and I'm tired of saying that word. I might as well know what is going on." He pointed out.

"Ok." She conceded. "It seems Marcus may not have been entirely sober while driving."

"Goddammit!" Harvey yelled. "Are you shitting me? He was drunk and drove with his daughter in the car?"

"That's what it seems like." She nodded. "We need to go see if we can get him out of this."

"Oh I'll go up there. I'll check on Olivia and I'll make sure that Marcus is still breathing. But I'm not doing shit for him with this." Harvey yelled. "You know it's not going to be just a simple DUI. It's going to get bumped up to a felony and he'll be slapped with child endangerment charges too. He could go to jail and lose the kids."

"I know that." She nodded, starting to pack their toiletries.

"What the hell was he thinking?"

"I don't know!" She shook her head. "Can you please just find out if there is a flight leaving soon? And I don't know if Louis or Mike would be able to, but we need someone to pick up the slack with our clients for a couple of days."

"Fine." He stormed out of the room.


	25. Chapter 25

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Five

Two and a half hours later they were sitting on a plane, making their way up to Boston. Unlike the last time they made the trip, they weren't touching each other or holding on to each other for support. Harvey had the window seat. He had his elbow propped up on the armrest and was staring out the window. He had been like that the entire time since they boarded the plane and never moved. She hated the differences between their interaction on the first flight up there after Katie died and this one.

She sat in her seat, occasionally looking over at Harvey and wishing he would just talk to her. The silence between them was driving her crazy. She would start the conversation but she wasn't sure what to say at this point. She was just as mad at Marcus as Harvey was, but she also realized that he was family and they needed to try and help him.

Driving drunk was stupid enough, but driving drunk with his daughter in the car was just plain reckless, stupid and insane. He could have killed her and himself. So she could see why Harvey was angry and she didn't want to discount his feelings.

But Marcus was the only parent those kids had left. If they couldn't find a way to get him out of this legal trouble…well she didn't want to think about it. They had to try their best to help him.

She had texted Donna what was going on while they rode to the airport. A little while later, Mike texted that he would cover for them while they were in Boston.

"This is your captain speaking. We are currently making our final approach into Logan International Airport. Please buckle your seats belts and return your tray tables to their upright positions. Local time is 5:12 p.m. and the temperature is 82 degrees with partly cloudy skies. If you have a layover, please check the signs once we land in case your gate number has changed. If you are visiting Boston, welcome to our city. And if you are coming home, welcome back. We know you have a choice when you fly and we thank you for choosing Delta Airlines. We'll be on the ground shortly."

She looked over at Harvey, who still wasn't looking over at her. If he was going to be this way the whole trip, it was going to be torture.

* * *

Harvey drove down the interstate, carefully weaving through the traffic in an attempt to get to the hospital sooner. The entire time they traveled he couldn't help but think about how they needed to get to the hospital as soon as humanly possible. They needed to make sure that Olivia and Marcus were alright. He needed to make sure that his niece wasn't injured badly. He didn't want Marcus hurt badly either, but part of the reason for that was so he could beat the shit out of his younger brother.

He realized Marcus wasn't perfect and had a bad gambling problem that he sought treatment for in the past. But he never thought he would have to worry about his brother developing a drinking problem too, which was the only reason he could see for Marcus driving drunk with Olivia in the backseat.

It was reckless. It was stupid. It was dangerous and it made him want to pummel Marcus' face until he was unrecognizable.

He looked over at the passenger seat and noticed that Rebecca was just staring straight ahead out the window. He wondered if she was mad at him for being so quiet. Honestly though, he didn't speak because he was aware if he started to talk, expletives would come flying out at an alarming rate. He didn't think the parents of the young children on the flight would appreciate that.

So he stayed quiet and silently seethed at his younger brothers' actions, hoping he could calm down before they got there.

There was no good way to get him out of the trouble he was in. He knew Rebecca wanted him to represent Marcus and try to get him out of this, but he couldn't see a way out.

"We should be there soon." He spoke, turning his attention back to the road.

"Great." She said, not looking over at him.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I've been…

"Insufferable?" She finished his sentence for him.

"That too." He chuckled, glancing over at her. "I was going to say moody."

"That too." She nodded, turning to look at him with a grin on her face.

He grabbed her hand with his right hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Look Harvey, I know that you're angry with Marcus right now." She sighed. "I am too. He did an incredibly stupid thing. But he is your brother and we need to try to do what we can to minimize this…not only for him but for Oliva and Ethan. He is the only parent they have left."

"I'm just not sure how we can minimize this." He sighed.

"I know." She agreed. "But can we at least agree that we have to try?"

She had a point. He needed to put aside his anger and do what was best for Marcus' kids. But did that mean having Marcus around if he was going to be drinking and making bad decisions like this?

"We can try." He agreed. "We have to try."

"Thank you."

* * *

The elevator ride was long because it seemed like they got stuck on each floor. Harvey held on to her hand and gave it a light squeeze so she looked over at him and smiled.

When they first got to the hospital, she wanted to go straight to Olivia's room. Lily had texted her what room Olivia was in and she wanted to rush in there immediately. But Harvey suggested they make a quick stop at the hospital gift shop to get something for her.

She thought it was an incredibly sweet idea so she went along with it. He went straight to the stuffed animal wall and picked out a giraffe, which was Olivia's favorite animal. He had remembered that without any reminding.

They got off the elevator and followed the signs until they reached Olivia's room.

"Sweetie…how are you?" Rebecca asked as she went up to Olivia's bed and sat down carefully.

"My arm hurts." Olivia said in a sad tone, pointing to her cast.

"She has a broken arm in three places." Lily explained. "They want to keep her here overnight to monitor her just to be safe, but she will be just fine."

"Thank God!" Rebecca sighed. "We were so worried about you!"

"Yes we were." Harvey echoed Rebecca's concern as he smiled at his niece.

"At least I get to see you two." Olivia smiled.

"We got you this." Harvey brought the stuffed giraffe out from behind him.

Olivia's eyes lit up. "She's awesome!"

"It's a she?" Harvey asked, staring at it for a moment before giving it to his niece. "How can you tell?"

"I just can!" Olivia grabbed it with her non-broken arm and hugged it. "Thank you Uncle Harvey!"

"You're welcome." He smiled.

"What are you going to name her?" Rebecca asked.

"I don't know yet. Where's my daddy?"

"He's in another room." Lily told her.

"Can I see him?" Olivia asked. "Maybe he could help me name her."

"Maybe later." Rebecca said with a smile. "Can we get you anything?"

"No." Olivia shook her head.

Rebecca leaned in and kissed the top of Olivia's head. Then she got up from the bed and walked over to Ethan, who was sitting on the couch in the corner on his phone. She sat down next to him. "How are you doing?"

"Great." Ethan replied sarcastically.

"Do you want to go get something to drink with me?" She asked.

"I don't care." He shrugged.

"C'mon." She got up and motioned for him to follow her. "Does anyone want anything from the cafeteria?"

"No thank you." Lily shook her head.

"Chocolate pudding please!" Olivia spoke up.

"Ok." She looked over at Harvey. "Anything?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Ok." She nodded. "We will be right back." She waited until she was out in the hallway with Ethan before starting to talk. "How are you really doing?"

"Everything sucks right now." Ethan sighed.

"I know." She agreed. "So how much do you know about what happened today?"

"I know enough to know that everything is about to change again." He sighed. "Isn't it?

"Yeah, buddy. It is going to change again." She put her arm around him as they waited for the elevator. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"No, it isn't." She asserted. She felt horrible that he was having to go through this. "You've been through a lot lately. I need you to know that if you ever need or want to talk, I'm here for you. Ok?"

"Ok." He nodded.

"Let's go get some chocolate pudding. I'll even let you have a coke if you want." She noticed that brought a smile to his face.

* * *

Harvey stood outside Marcus' room a little later on. He had spent a while at Olivia's bedside, listening to her talk about her school and her friends. She didn't seem to be too traumatized by the situation she was in and that was a good thing. Eventually he realized he needed to go see his baby brother so he excused himself from Olivia's room. He saw the police officer stationed outside and took a deep breath before going in.

"Harvey." Marcus sighed. "It is good to see you, man."

"You won't think that once you hear what I have to say." He sighed.

"Ok. Just tell me one thing first. How is Olivia?"

"She's alright except for a broken arm. They are just keeping her overnight for observation."

"Oh thank God." Marcus sighed. "I have been so worried about her and no one would tell me anything."

"Maybe because they didn't think you deserved to know anything." He scoffed.

"I am well aware that I screwed up. You don't need to tell me that."

"Screwed up?" Harvey yelled. "No. Screwing up would be running over someone's mailbox or forgetting to pick up milk on the way home. You drove drunk with your daughter in the car and then almost killed her! That's not a screw up…that's an unforgiveable act. And you should be thanking God that Olivia is alright because if she wasn't I would kill you right now."

"I get it. You're angry."

"You're Goddamn right I'm angry!" Harvey continued to yell. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"You haven't been here, Harvey! Just like always, when things go wrong you are nowhere to be found! You don't know what it has been like since Katie's death two months ago." Marcus sighed.

"No you're right." Harvey agreed. "I don't know because you never took any of my calls! And neither does Rebecca because you also stopped taking her calls when she tried to check on you. So you can't play the blame game on that one because we both tried to be there for you. What's the next excuse?"

"It's not an excuse, Harvey." Marcus argued. "You truly don't have any idea what's been going on or the hell I've been going through."

"Fine." He scoffed. "I'm here now. Fill me in. Let me know all the stuff that has happened that makes it acceptable for you to drink and drive. Oh yeah…that's right. There is nothing that makes it acceptable."

"Harvey, c'mon…"

He looked over and saw Rebecca lightly grabbing onto his arm. He wasn't expecting her to be in here and wondered how long she had been standing there.

"How are you doing?" Rebecca asked, turning her attention to Marcus.

"I'll live." Marcus nodded. "The doctors say I've got a little bit of internal bleeding that they want to monitor overnight but I should be ok."

"Good." Rebecca nodded. "So why don't we all stop yelling and you walk us through what happened today so we have a clearer picture? Because as soon as you are medically cleared, you are going to be arrested and it will take a while to be able to talk to you like this again. Let's make the most of this time and be productive."

"Fine." Marcus sighed.

* * *

Rebecca and Harvey met up with Lily in the hallway outside Olivia's room after they heard Marcus' side of the story.

"It's getting late. I think one of us should stay here with Olivia tonight. I don't think she should be left alone in the hospital." Lily spoke up.

"You're right." Rebecca agreed. "I'll do it. I'll stay."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Yeah." Rebecca nodded. "I'm sure. You go back with Ethan and I'll take care of Olivia."

"Ok." Lily smiled. "Thank you. I'll go get Ethan and we'll go home."

Harvey closed the gap between them and hugged Rebecca once his mom was gone. "I'll miss you tonight."

"No you won't. You'll be too busy working on Marcus' case to even notice I'm not there." She teased.

"Don't remind me about that." He scoffed. "What if I need your help?"

"I'll have my phone with me." She told him. "I'm only a text away."

"Do you realize this is going to be the first night since we got back together that we aren't spending together?" He asked.

She pulled away only far enough to see his face. "Really?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Every other night we've been together."

"Hmm…" He could see she was thinking about it. "You're right."

"Now I really don't want to leave you here." He smirked. "It seems a shame to break such a long streak."

"It's one night." She chuckled. "I think you will be fine."

"If I'm not…"

"I'm only a text away." She repeated. "Are you going to get a hotel room or stay at your mom's?"

"Hotel room." He chuckled. "I'm not staying at her house without you there as a buffer zone."

"Are you chicken?" She taunted playfully.

"No." He chuckled. "I just don't see any reason to stay with her."

"Ok." She nodded, looking at him knowingly. Then she kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He replied, kissing her on the forehead.

By this time, his mom and Ethan had exited Olivia's room and were walking towards them.

"Are you coming back home with us tonight?" Ethan asked.

"I wasn't planning on it." Harvey replied. Then he saw the smile on Ethan's face fade. He looked over at Rebecca and then at Ethan. "Actually, I guess I can come back with you tonight."

The smile returned to Ethan's face. "Awesome!"

"I guess we should go." Harvey said. He let his mom and Ethan walk to the elevator first before closing the gap between him and Rebecca one more time. "Save me." He whispered before kissing her.

"You'll be fine." She promised him with a grin on her face.


	26. Chapter 26

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Six

Harvey strolled through the hospital early the next morning with a clear purpose. He wanted to check on Rebecca and Olivia before checking in on Marcus. He had spent the night trying to come up with anything he could use to help Marcus' case but the whole thing was proving challenging.

The only thing he could come up with was sending Marcus to rehab for an alcohol addiction. Maybe if he went away for two months it would show the judge that Marcus was serious about getting better.

As for the child endangerment charge that was sure to come down, the only thing he could think was to also use rehab as a way to show he was serious about his issues. Then have Marcus take parenting classes designed for parents with addictions. During the time that Marcus was in rehab, the children would need to stay with his mom. But he didn't think that would be a problem. She had already been helping to take care of the kids. Surely she wouldn't have any issues doing it a little longer.

He didn't know if his plan would work but it was the only plan he could come up with that wouldn't immediately land Marcus in jail for months or years. This way he would have a fighting chance to stay out of jail. He opened Olivia's door and saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

Both Olivia and Rebecca were still asleep. Rebecca was on the bed with Olivia. Olivia was cuddled up next to her with the giraffe cradled in her arm and Rebecca had her arms wrapped around the girl, as if she was trying to protect her from something He couldn't help but smile at the sight before him.

He had to admit that when he heard that Olivia had been hurt, it tugged at his heartstrings in a way he hadn't experienced before. He loved Olivia, just like he loved Ethan. But hearing she was hurt made him feel protective in a way he hadn't before. It was a newer feeling but he didn't mind it. It made him think maybe he was being too hard on himself. Maybe he could be a good father after all.

A part of him wanted to let them sleep. He even contemplated leaving the room to check on Marcus first. But before he could leave a nurse came in.

"Good morning." The nurse said with a cheery voice before getting on the computer to check Olivia's chart.

Rebecca started to stir and opened her eyes. When she saw Harvey she smiled. Then she gently shook Olivia awake.

"Sweetie, time to get up." She told Olivia.

"Do I have to?" Olivia grumbled.

"Yes please." Rebecca told her.

Olivia opened her eyes. "Hey Uncle Harvey."

"Hey yourself." He smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"My arm still hurts. But I'm ok." Olivia answered.

"It's time for some more Tylenol." The nurse told them. "That should help with your arm. I'll go get you some and then you're going to be ready to be discharged."

"That's good news." Rebecca smiled.

Harvey saw the nurse leave and then looked over at Rebecca. "Can I talk to you in the hallway for a moment?"

"Yeah, of course." She nodded. Then she turned to Olivia. "I'll be right back."

Harvey grabbed Rebecca's hand and led her to the hallway. "First of all…" He trapped her against the wall and gave her a slow kiss. "Good morning."

"Good morning." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. Then she studied his face. "You didn't get any sleep last night, did you?"

He chuckled. "How did you know?"

"I know you." She told him. "I know what you look like when you are sleep deprived."

He chuckled. "True. Usually when I'm sleep deprived it is because I was doing something much more fun than working on Marcus' case."

She grinned. "That's very true. What did you come up with?"

"Who says I came up with anything?"

"Again…" She chuckled. "I know you. You always come up with something."

He kissed her forehead. "He doesn't know it yet, but I'm sending him to rehab. I imagine they will arrest him today when he gets discharged. I'm not sure I can get a bail hearing until tomorrow since today is Sunday. But as soon as he gets out on bail I am driving him to rehab for two months." He explained.

"That's a good idea." She nodded. "It shows he is serious about his sobriety."

"I'm also enrolling him in parenting classes." He went on. "They have some that are geared more towards parents with addictions."

"That may help with the child endangerment charges." She sighed. "But those are going to be harder to get rid of than the DUI charges."

"I know." He sighed. "The only problem is we need someone to watch the kids while Marcus is in rehab. Do you think you could talk to my mom and make sure she is alright doing that?"

"Why didn't you talk to her about it this morning?" She asked.

"You know why. Please?" He asked. "I can't talk to her."

"You mean you won't." She teased.

"I need your help." He pleaded.

"Ok. I'll do it." She nodded. "I'll take pity on you and talk to her about it."

"Thank you." He gave her a quick kiss.

"No, thank you." She smiled. "I know you weren't happy about helping Marcus. But I appreciate it."

"He doesn't deserve our help right now. He doesn't even deserve to make bail in my opinion." He explained. "But you were right. His kids do deserve the help. And I'm not going to stand by and let them get hurt even more than they already have by this."

"I was right?" She gently gloated. "I need to write that down in my calendar."

He grinned. "I'm going to go check on Marcus and tell him the plan. Why don't you take the car after Olivia gets released? Her car seat is in the back. I'll meet you at my mom's later?" He handed her the keys to the rental car.

"How are you getting back?"

"I'll Uber or something." He shrugged.

"Ok." She nodded, giving him a kiss. "I'll see you later. Good luck with Marcus."

* * *

"I spoke to your nurse and you're going to be released soon." Harvey said after entering Marcus' hospital room.

"And then they will arrest me?" Marcus sighed.

"Yeah." He nodded. "And since it is a Sunday, I can't get you a bail hearing until first thing tomorrow morning."

"So I have to spend time in jail?"

"Yeah." He nodded again.

"That's just great." Marcus rolled his eyes.

"Look…I have a plan for you, but you aren't going to like it."

"Well let's hear it."

"As soon as I get you released on bail, you're going to rehab for two months."

"No." Marcus shook his head. "I am not doing that. No way, Harvey. I have to be here for my kids and the restaurant and mom…I can't be away from everything and everyone for two months. No. I've got too much to do and too many responsibilities."

"Do you want to go to jail for years and be away from everything and everyone for that long?" Harvey asked. "Because if you want to have any hope of avoiding jail time for what you've done, you will go to rehab and you will stay there for the entire two months."

"Harvey…"

"Don't Harvey me!" He yelled. "I have worked all night to figure out the best strategy to try and save your ass from going to prison because of your shitty decisions…not because I necessarily think you deserve it but because your children deserve it. But this is non-negotiable. You will go to rehab for two months and you will take the parenting classes."

"Why parenting classes?"

"It's to try and get them to reduce the child endangerment charges." He explained. "I'm in full damage control mode for you right now and this is the only thing I can come up with to try and fix your issues."

"There has to be some other way than rehab for that long." Marcus sighed.

"Trust me…If there was another way, I would have found it."

"You don't understand why I can't be away that long."

"I get it. You are worried about the kids and your business." He sighed. "But you have your business manager at the restaurant who can take over, and I'm sure mom can take care of the kids…"

"You can't just assume things like that." Marcus shook his head. "You don't know the first thing about mom and what she can or can't do, just like you don't know anything about my restaurant business."

He could tell that Marcus was getting agitated. "Why are you getting so angry with me about this? I'm only trying to help you."

"You haven't been around enough to know everything that's happened in the past."

"Ok if you are going to start getting on me about that again, then this conversation is over." He shook his head. "I'm not engaging in another 'let's bash Harvey' session right now."

"Of course you declare the conversation over. Because you don't really want to be a part of this family." Marcus challenged him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Let's face it and be real about this. You haven't been a real part of this family for a very long time. Sure, you called on birthdays and Christmas and you came by to visit a few times. You'd bring presents for the kids and they would fall in love with you only to have you disappear on them again. But there is a lot you don't know about and a lot that you have missed." Marcus pointed out. "And the only reason you came back to this family at all was because of Rebecca. Let's just be honest about that. But you don't really want to be here. If you did, you would be trying to make things right with mom. But you aren't because you're selfish. You always have been. You want everything to be on your own terms."

"I am not the one who is selfish. She…"

"She made a mistake, Harvey! A mistake that in the grand scheme of things shouldn't have escalated to this extent." Marcus interrupted. "And you've been rubbing her nose in it for the past twenty years like she's a puppy that made a mess on the floor. It's always been about what you had to go through and the pain she caused you. What about the pain you have caused everyone else by staying away for so long? Do you think that was easy for any of us? Do you know what it is like to have to explain to Olivia and Ethan why Uncle Harvey and grandma can't be in the same room together? Because that was never a fun conversation. But you don't know what that was like. So give it a rest and let it go."

"I'm not taking advice from someone like you who decided drinking and driving was a good decision." Harvey scoffed.

"Heaven forbid I'm human and I make a mistake, right Harvey?" Marcus scoffed this time. "Are you going to cut me out of your life for the next twenty years because of it? Because that's what you do to your family. That's your track record. Someone makes a mistake and you cut them out of your life. I just hope to God Rebecca doesn't ever make a mistake because it would devastate her to be ostracized by you the way you've done it to mom."

"Just shut up!" Harvey yelled.

"Why should I?" Marcus asked. "It's the truth."

"This isn't about me. This is about you and your poor decisions."

"No, it is also about you." Marcus argued. "You have no idea what's gone on in this family or what we have endured while you were off sulking and pouting. So don't come in here acting all high and mighty. Mom and I have done the best we can without you in this family."

"Mom has obviously done a shitty job with you." Harvey pointed out.

"She did her best to try and help me with the drinking." Marcus sighed.

"You mean she knew you were drinking?"

"Yeah."

"Unbelievable." He sighed. There was a pause and he was about to say something else when the door opened. The police officer that was stationed outside Marcus' room came in with the doctor.

"It looks like the internal bleeding has stopped and everything looks good." The doctor said, looking at the chart. "So we will be discharging you from the hospital."

"And you will be arrested and coming downtown with me." The officer stated.

"Ok." Marcus sighed.


	27. Chapter 27

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"You knew about Marcus gambling and drinking?" Harvey yelled, storming into the room later that day and pointing his finger at Lily.

"What?" Rebecca scoffed. She wasn't sure why he was coming in here and yelling at Lily like that without any warning. "Harvey what are you talking about?"

"Marcus claims she knew about the gambling and the drinking…that she was trying to help him." He said, pointing at his mom. "Is that true?"

"He told me about the gambling after Katie died." Lily admitted. "But I wasn't aware of the drinking until a few days ago."

"And you didn't stop for one second and think that maybe we should have been told about it?" Harvey yelled.

"I was trying to handle it myself." Lily explained. "I thought I could help him."

"Well you certainly did a shitty job of it. But then again, you never were a very good mother to begin with."

"Harvey!" She chided her husband in a harsh tone. "Stop it."

"No." Lily shook her head. "Let him say what he needs to say. At this point, having him yell at me is better than silence."

"I don't understand why you thought you should be trying to handle Marcus by yourself." Harvey sighed.

"Was I supposed to call you to help?" Lily asked. "Because until you met Rebecca you were hardly even a real part of this family and you have no idea what Marcus or any of us went through while you were off having your pity party."

"Pity party?" He scoffed. "You can't be serious."

"I'm sorry if the truth hurts." Lily sighed.

"How about this truth?" He asked. "You are a shitty mother and we'd be much better off without your so called help."

"Harvey, stop it." She glared at him and stood in between him and his mother. She could tell that Lily was barely holding it together at this point and she felt like she needed to protect the woman. Harvey was being unreasonable and he needed to stop.

"I can't stop. I'm just getting started." He told her. "You wanted me to talk to her."

"Yeah. Talk to her." She pointed out. "What you are doing right now is verbally abusing her."

"I am not." He scoffed.

"Yes you are and I'm serious. Stop it right now." She told him.

"Why should I?" He asked. "She let Marcus get deeper into his gambling addiction instead of getting him the professional help he needed. And maybe if she had called us we could have gotten him into a program instead of letting him go off on his own. Maybe then he wouldn't have gotten drunk and almost killed his little girl. Marcus is guilty of that but she had a part to play in this whole thing too and she needs to take responsibility for it."

"Harvey, I swear…just shut the fuck up right now." She told her, shaking her head. She realized she was being harsh with him but he needed to stop attacking his mother and she didn't know any other way to do it.

"Fine. Go ahead and take her side again. I shouldn't be surprised by that at this point." He scoffed. He turned around and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Anywhere but here." He told her, slamming the door behind him.

"You didn't have to do that." Lily told her after Harvey left.

"I couldn't let him attack you like that." She turned to face Lily. "Especially after…He had no right to attack you like that."

"But he is allowed his opinions." Lily pointed out. "And now you've put yourself in the middle of this. I'm sorry."

"I have always been in the middle of this. It's nothing new and nothing I can't handle." She sighed. "But you know I have to tell him what you just told me, right?"

"I know." Lily nodded. "It's time he knows and he certainly won't listen to me now. Besides, I think it will be better coming from you."

* * *

Rebecca waited up for Harvey to come back, but it was getting late and he still wasn't there. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was almost midnight.

"I'm going to bed." Lily announced from the other side of the couch.

She had been sitting with Lily in the living room, watching random television shows for the past couple of hours ever since Ethan and Olivia went to bed.

"Can you think of anywhere Harvey may have gone?" She asked. "I'm starting to get worried about him."

She watched as Lily seemed to be deep in thought.

"He used to go to the baseball field at his high school a lot as a teenager when he wanted to escape the house. It might be worth checking out."

"Thanks." She gave Lily a small smile.

"Goodnight."

As soon as Lily was upstairs, she grabbed her purse and keys. It didn't take her long to drive over to his old high school because it wasn't that far away. She parked and walked to the baseball field, relieved to see his figure sitting on the bleachers.

"Hey." She said quietly as she sat down next to him.

"How'd you find me?" He asked quietly, looking over at her.

"I asked your mom where she thought you might be and she suggested you might be here." She admitted. They sat there in silence for a moment. "Harvey, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that."

"No. I'm sorry for walking out like I did." He sighed.

"You were really mad when you came back from dealing with Marcus." She pointed out. "What happened?"

He sighed again and looked out at the field. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Harvey…c'mon. Tell me, please?"

"Fine." He looked over at her. "Marcus said some things that I didn't think were fair at the time. I thought he was just being an asshole, but then I started to realize he had a point about some of it."

"That's kind of vague." She chuckled. "You want to clarify that for me a little?"

"Do you think if you made some kind of mistake with our relationship that I would cut you out of my life like I did with my mom?"

She was caught completely off guard with that question and wasn't sure how to respond.

"Um…Where is that coming from?" She finally asked, hoping to stall for time before having to answer that question.

"Marcus told me that my reaction to family members who make a mistake is to cut them out of my life. Then he said he hoped you never made a mistake because he didn't want me to cut you out of my life." He explained. "Is that something you think I would do?"

She looked at him and then out to the field. "I would like to think that I would never make a big enough mistake with our relationship to make you think that was an option. I'm certainly never going to cheat on you, which I know would definitely make you cut me out of your life. But I can't guarantee that I won't do something to piss you off." She chuckled. "Though I'm sure I already have done things to piss you off and you haven't cut me out of your life yet. So I'm probably pretty safe."

"That's not really an answer." He chuckled.

She looked over, deciding to be completely honest with him. "Harvey, I don't know what to tell you other than I have worried about that. You cut your family out of your life for a long time. You cut your own mother completely out of your life, which is harsh. And you did it rather easily. So I want to believe that you wouldn't do that to me if something were to happen. I want to believe that you've changed. And to be honest, it's not a thought that pops into my mind very often anymore. But yeah. I've worried about that in the past."

"I'm so sorry that you have ever thought that." He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "I'd never do that to you. You have to believe me."

"Deep down, I know that." She assured him. "It's just that sometimes my mind goes there. What else did Marcus say to have such an impact on you?"

"He said I was selfish. He said I had no clue what has happened in their lives. Maybe he's right. Maybe I am selfish."

"I think it's more appropriate to say you have been hurting and taking it out on them."

"Isn't that the same thing?" He laughed.

"I think my version sounds better. Look, everyone has been a victim of this feud between you and your mother. It's only natural that Marcus would have his own opinion about it. Though I would imagine part of the reason he lashed out was because he's scared."

"That makes sense." Harvey nodded. "I'd be scared if I was in his position."

She looped her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to fight with you. Are we ok?"

He turned to kiss the top of her head. "Of course we are."

She was glad they were ok, but she still needed to talk to him about his mother and he wasn't going to like what she had to say. "I'm sorry you felt like I was taking her side. Can I explain why I wanted you to stop talking to her like that?"

"I know why." He sighed. "You think I should be forgiving her and moving on. But it's not that simple to me. It's never been that simple to me."

"I do think that, but it's not the reason." She told him, moving so that she could look him in the eyes. "Right before you came in, she told me something that you really need to know."

"Did she keep something else a secret about Marcus?"

"No." She shook her head and pulled away to look at him. "She kept a secret about herself. Harvey, she's sick."

"What?" He looked at her questioningly.

"Six years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through the treatments and the surgeries. The doctors thought she was going to be fine. But the cancer is back and it has spread this time."

"No." He shook his head. "That can't be. Marcus would have told me about that six years ago."

"You weren't speaking to him much back then." She pointed out.

"But still…that's the type of thing that you still tell people about…"

"She asked Marcus not to tell you because she didn't want that to be the reason why you started talking to her again. I'm so sorry."

"How bad is it?" He whispered.

"Pretty bad." She whispered back. "The doctors have given her a year at the most."

"Shit." He closed his eyes.

She put her arm around his shoulder and pulled him towards her for a hug.

"So that is why you got so mad when I came in and told her that we would be better off without her." He stated.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Well now I feel like the world's biggest asshole."

"It's ok. It's not like you knew what was going on."

"Does Marcus know?"

"Yeah. Katie was the only one she told originally. After Katie died, she had to tell Marcus. I honestly think he is drowning right now. Between Katie's death and now your mom's illness…it's no wonder he went back to gambling and then drinking."

"It definitely makes sense." He sighed. "Marcus told me I had no clue what had been going on. He sure was right. I didn't have any clue about what was happening in my own family."

"I really hate to pile more on you right now, but…"

"I'm not sure I can handle anymore." He scoffed, pulling away from her.

"Your mom only told me about her health after I asked if she would be able to take care of the kids while Marcus is in rehab. She doesn't feel like she can take care of them by herself for that long."

"Shit." He sighed. "That just leaves two options…us or foster care."

"Yeah."

"And we can't send them to foster care."

"No." She agreed. "We can't."

"This situation just keeps getting worse and worse."

"I know." She nodded.

"At least I don't think it could get any worse right now." He chuckled.

A few moments later, it started to rain. At first it was a soft, gentle rain. Then it turned into a downpour.

She laughed. "You jinxed us!"

He laughed heartily. "Come here." He grabbed her hand and led her off of the bleachers. They ran into the dugout area where they could get some cover from the rain.

"Do you ever feel cursed?" He asked as they huddled together and tried to stay dry. "Because I'm feeling a little cursed right now."

"Harvey, I know things are crazy right now. We barely get enough time to just sit and breathe from one thing happening before another thing happens. But it's going to be ok as long as we stick together."

"I don't know what I would ever do without you." He turned to face her.

"Luckily you won't have to find out." She promised. "You're kind of stuck with me."

"There's no one else I'd rather be stuck with than you." He cupped her face in his hands before placing soft kisses on her lips. After a few kisses he moved his hands to her hips, gently pulling her closer to him.

She ran her fingers through his hair before letting her arms wrap around his neck. She let him pull her onto his lap and started to moan softly when he began to kiss her neck.

"You know we shouldn't do this here, right?" She giggled.

"It's late, dark, raining and we are all alone. The way this dugout is designed, no one would be able to see anything." He reasoned.

"You're crazy." She grinned.

"Crazy about you." He smirked.

She thought about it for a moment. "Was this the dugout for your team when you played?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Did you ever have a fantasy about having sex in here?"

He chuckled. "There may have been a couple of fantasies."

"Did you ever make them a reality?" She asked.

"No." He shook his head. "I never did."

She took a deep breath. "Ok. But let's make this brief. The last thing we need is to be cited for public indecency."


	28. Chapter 28

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Alright Harvey…You win. I'll go to rehab. I'll work the program and I'll do everything you tell me to do to try and get out of this in one piece." Marcus sighed as they sat together at the table and waited for Marcus's bail hearing to start the next day.

"Really? You were so gung-ho about not listening to me yesterday. What changed your mind?" Harvey asked, looking over at his younger brother.

"Staying in jail overnight gave me a lot of time to think." Marcus admitted.

"I can only imagine." He chuckled.

"Look, I need you to do me a favor and it is non-negotiable."

He scoffed. "Marcus I'm already doing you a favor by representing you in this. Now you want another Goddamm favor?"

"Yeah." Marcus nodded. "I do and I know you'll do it."

"You're right. I probably will." He sighed. "Well what is it?"

"I need someone to stay with mom and help her with the kids while I am gone because I can't guarantee she can do it by herself. Don't ask me why. I just don't think she can."

"I don't have to ask why because I already know why." He nodded.

"You know?"

"Yeah. I know about her cancer coming back. She told Rebecca and Rebecca told me." He explained.

"So then you know that she isn't in any condition to take care of the kids by herself?" Marcus pointed out.

"I agree." He nodded. "And you don't have to worry about it. We talked about it and Rebecca has agreed to stay here with mom and help out with the kids."

"No. That's not happening." Marcus interrupted. "You know I love Rebecca and I think the world of her. She is great with the kids and they love her too. But this time it has to be you. You have to be the one to stay here."

"No it doesn't." He argued, looking at his brother like he had grown a second head. "I can't stay here with mom for eight weeks. Besides, I'm not nearly as good with the kids as Rebecca is. They will be much better off with Rebecca here."

"Harvey, the kids love you just as much as they love Rebecca…but the truth is you have been missing from this family for twenty years. You've missed both the big and little moments that have made up our lives. All I'm asking is that you help me take care of my kids while I'm gone and you spend some time with mom. Who knows how long she has left. Don't you want a chance to get some closure before it's too late?"

"I don't need closure." He shrugged, knowing that wasn't entirely true. The news of his mom's cancer had definitely shaken him up. But he wasn't about to admit that while sitting in a courtroom and he definitely wasn't going to admit it to Marcus.

"Bullshit. C'mon Harvey. You're telling me finding out about mom's cancer hasn't made you reevaluate things?"

"It doesn't matter if I've reevaluated things or not." He pointed out. "You're asking me to take two months off from work."

"I'm sure if Rebecca can make that sacrifice, you can also find a way to take the time off. You are a name partner after all, just like she is."

"It doesn't work like that." He argued. It was a lame argument because he could easily take the time off instead of Rebecca.

Marcus chuckled. "Well time is running out. It's either you agree to this or I don't go to rehab and your precious plan to help me goes down the drain."

"You really are willing to sabotage yourself like that?"

"Oh yeah." Marcus smirked. "Because I know there's no real risk. You'll call my bluff."

"Dammit. Fine." He sighed, knowing he had no other choice if he wanted Marcus to agree to the plan of rehab.

"Thank you." Marcus smiled.

"You're a pain the ass, you know that, right?" Harvey chuckled.

"I'm well aware of that, yes." Marcus answered.

"All rise!" The bailiff announced.

The judge entered the courtroom and sat down. "We are here for the State of Massachusetts vs. Marcus Specter. Who do we have here today?"

"Tara Holiday for the prosecution, your Honor."

"Harvey Specter for the defense, your Honor." He looked over at the prosecutor and saw that she looked like she was barely out of law school. That could either work for or against them because she could be willing to do whatever it took to get cases settled like he did when he worked for the prosecutor's office, or she could be looking to make a name for herself by being extra hard on crime, something he also did when he worked for the prosecutor's office.

"I understand the issue at hand today is bail." The judge said, looking over his paperwork. "I'm ready to hear arguments for and against. Ms. Holiday?"

"The State doesn't have any objection to granting Mr. Specter bail, as long as he is willing to agree to the following conditions. First he hands over his driver's license. Second, he undergoes alcohol counseling and third he undergoes random blood alcohol testing while awaiting trial." She explained.

"Mr. Specter, does your client agree to those terms?" The judge asked.

"Your honor, my client is willing to agree to those terms. He is actually scheduled to start rehab later today, assuming he makes bail. He will be there for two months, so he will already be receiving alcohol counseling. I'm sure if the court mandates it, the rehab facility can facilitate random testing." He said.

"Where is this rehab?" She asked.

He looked over at Ms. Holiday. "It is right outside Boston, maybe 25 miles from here."

"Would your client be willing to wear an ankle monitor?" She asked.

He looked over at Marcus, who simply shrugged. "He would if that is going to be a requirement for bail, but to be honest he has no reason to run away. He has two young children and two restaurants in Boston. He has roots and a sense of community here. He isn't a flight risk."

"I'm going to set bail at $500,000 on the conditions that he completes his stay in rehab and gets random testing. He will surrender his drivers' license and receive random alcohol testing in rehab. As for the ankle monitor, I'm not convinced that is necessary." The judge explained, banging the gavel. "Court is adjourned."

Harvey turned to Marcus and smiled. "Let's get your bail paid so you can get to rehab."

"Is rehab your magical answer to make his problems go away?"

He turned to see Ms. Holiday at their table. "I don't think we have been properly introduced. I'm Harvey Specter."

"Tara Holiday." She stuck out her hand for him to shake. "Your client is being accused of a felony DUI and child endangerment. It's going to take a lot more than just rehab to push that all away."

"That's not what we are doing." He claimed, knowing it was a lie.

"Ok." She nodded. "I guess we'll see about that. Have a good day gentlemen."

He shook his head and turned his attention back to Marcus.

"She's going to be trouble." Marcus said.

He saw the look of concern on Marcus' face. "I can handle her."

"Ok." Marcus nodded.

He knew Marcus wasn't convinced but didn't have the time to reassure him. "I'll go pay your bail and then we can get out of here. I already have a bag packed for you in the car."

"Can I see the kids before we go?" Marcus asked.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" He asked.

"I need to see Olivia, make sure she actually is ok. And I need to see Ethan too."

"Wouldn't that just confuse them?"

"I bet they are already pretty confused." Marcus pointed out. "Please Harvey?"

"Ok." He nodded. "We can stop there before going to rehab."

"Thank you."

* * *

Harvey stopped the car in the driveway and looked over at his brother. "We can't stay long. They are expecting us at the rehab center."

"Ok." Marcus nodded. "I just need to talk to them for a moment."

"Alright." He sighed, getting out of the car. He followed Marcus into the house. The first person they saw was their mom.

"Marcus!" Lily ran over and hugged him.

"It's ok." Marcus told her. "I'll be ok. Where are the kids?"

"In the backyard with Rebecca." Lily replied, breaking apart from him.

He didn't want to intrude on Marcus' time with his kids so he stayed behind as Marcus went towards the back door. It was awkward to be in the same room as his mom. He had done a good job of avoiding her since Rebecca told her about the cancer. But now they were standing in the same room and he couldn't avoid her anymore.

"I'm sorry for what I said the other day." He apologized softly.

"It's ok." She told him, turning her back on him and going back to doing dishes.

He wasn't sure what else to say so he stayed quiet.

* * *

Rebecca blew more bubbles, watching as Olivia ran around and tried to pop them. She looked over at the swings and saw Ethan sitting in one while he read a book.

"More!" Olivia cried out happily.

"Ok." She laughed. "Awesome! You got one!"

"I did!" Olivia cheered.

She looked over and saw Marcus so she went over and gave him a quick hug.

"I'm just here to say goodbye before I go to rehab." He whispered.

"I'll give you some time alone with them." She said as she pulled away from the hug.

"You don't have to." He shrugged. "You can stay."

"Daddy!" Olivia ran over to him.

"Oh Livvie-bug…" He used his nickname for her and gave her a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry about your arm."

"It's ok." She shrugged.

"Does it hurt much?" He asked.

"Not much anymore." She smiled. "Wanna come play bubbles with me?"

"I wish I could, but I need to talk to you and your brother." He told her, grabbing her hand and walking over to the swings. He put Olivia in the other swing. "Ethan, can you put the book down for a moment?"

"What now?" Ethan sighed.

"We need to talk."

"Fine." Ethan put down the book.

"I love you guys so much. You know that, right?" He looked at both of them.

"Yeah." Ethan nodded.

"Of course." Olivia smiled.

"I'm not going to be around for the next two months." He said. "I have to go away somewhere else to get better."

"You're sick?" Olivia asked. "You look fine."

"He's an addict, Olivia." Ethan sighed. "His sickness is addiction."

"How do you know that?" Marcus asked.

"It's called the internet." Ethan replied.

"What's an addiction?" Olivia asked.

Marcus sighed. "It's something that you are too young to know about. Both of you are. You shouldn't have to deal with this."

"But we are." Ethan pointed out.

He looked over at Ethan. "Buddy, I know I've made some mistakes lately and I'm sorry. You two have had to pay a pretty heavy price for my mistakes and that isn't fair. But you know I love you, right?"

"I know." Ethan replied, giving him a hug.

"And I love you." Marcus made room for Olivia and hugged her too.

"I love you Daddy." She told him.

"I love you too, Dad." Ethan echoed.

"I'm going to miss you but you are going to be taken care of very well by your grandma and Uncle Harvey." He kept the hug going for another moment before disentangling himself. "I have to go now."

"Can't you stay longer?" Olivia asked.

"No. But I really wish I could." He told her, kissing her forehead. Then he kissed Ethan's forehead. "I love you guys more than anything in this world. Please don't ever forget that."

He walked past her after leaving the swing set, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I know you guys will take good care of them."

"Of course." She nodded. "You just focus on taking care of yourself and don't worry. We've got things covered here."

"Thanks Rebecca." He gave her a small smile.

* * *

Harvey watched Marcus come back inside, catching Rebecca's eye for a moment. She gave him a small smile before going back over to the kids. "You ready?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"I love you." Lily told him, giving him another hug.

"Love you too mom." He then pulled away from the hug and followed Harvey out of the house.

* * *

Rebecca went over to the swings. "Hey Olivia, why don't you go inside and get a popsicle for you and your brother?"

"Ok!" She smiled and ran inside.

"I don't want a popsicle." Ethan told her.

"It's ok if you don't." She shrugged. "I'll eat it if you truly don't want it. I just wanted to talk to you alone for a second. You ok?"

"Just great." He sighed. "Everything is great and wonderful."

"You know you're too young to be this sassy and sarcastic, right?" She grinned.

"I'm a Specter." He looked over at her and smiled. "Uncle Harvey says that is in my blood."

"Oh Lord. Well he is technically right about that." She laughed. "But seriously, are you ok?"

"I just want things to settle down." He admitted. "I'm tired of things changing all the time."

"I know." She nodded. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"It does."

"I can't promise that things will settle down immediately. I don't know what going to happen tomorrow or the day after that. But I can promise you that no matter what happens you and your sister are always going to be loved and taken care of."

"You promise?" He asked.

"I promise." She smiled.

Without warning, he closed the gap between them and gave her a big hug. She was caught off guard at first.

"Thanks." He said softly.

"Anytime." She told him.


	29. Chapter 29

Skyfall

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"So how is Harvey doing?" Donna asked.

"He's doing as well as he can, with all the things going on right now." Rebecca chuckled. She signed the paperwork in the folder and handed it back to Donna, only to be given another folder. Judging from the tall stack of folders in Donna's hands, this was going to take a few minutes.

"What do you think he will do about his mom being so sick?"

"I honestly don't know anymore." She sighed. "I was hoping that he would use this time as an opportunity to try and work things out with her. But he seems content to try and ignore it all together."

"I'm sure at some point it will hit him that he needs to do something about the situation." Donna posited.

"I agree." She nodded. "All I can do is be there for him."

"How are you doing about the whole thing? I know you were getting pretty close to Lily."

"It breaks my heart. All of this breaks my heart." She focused on signing the papers because otherwise she would start crying. "I never had a sister until I married Harvey. And then Katie was killed. And I haven't had a mother figure in so long. I thought that maybe Lily and I could…but anyway, it's just not fair."

"No, it really isn't." Donna agreed.

"And I don't really feel like I can say that to Harvey because of his issues with her. It's a touchy subject at best. Marcus will be heartbroken and Ethan and Olivia are going to be devastated too when Lily dies. I can't talk to Marcus about it, and I wouldn't talk to Ethan or Olivia about it even if they did know because that wouldn't be fair to them. But it kills me. It's why I've been doing some research on the kind of cancer she has and have been trying to see if there is a clinical trial she could be a part of."

"Have you found anything yet?"

"I've found one that I think she might qualify for. I'm just not even sure if she would want to try." She explained.

"I think it is a lovely gesture that you are trying so hard, even if she says no." Donna smiled, handing her the last folder.

"Thanks." She gave her friend a small smile.

"And I also think that you should try to tell Harvey how you feel about his mom's illness. You have a right to be upset by it too."

"I know." She nodded. "But he is going through so much…"

"So are you." She pointed out.

"I'll think about talking to him." That was the best she could promise.

"Fair enough."

"Is that all of the paperwork I have to sign?" She asked, crossing her fingers.

"Yes." Donna smiled. "At least that's all for today."

"Oh thank God!" She laughed.

* * *

"Hey you…" Rebecca greeted as she accepted the Facetime on her phone later that day. She propped up her cell phone against her work phone so her hands were free. "How are things going?"

"Ugh." Harvey sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"I just miss you." He told her.

"I miss you too." She told him. "It's not the same without you around here."

"How many more days do I need to be up here?"

"Well let's see. Marcus is in rehab for two months and he has been in there for 3 days. So simple math would say another 57 days." She laughed.

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Why not?" She asked. "What's wrong?"

"Taking care of these kids is harder than I thought. And trying to do it with my mom is even more stressful. We are barely talking to each other." He explained. "Add into that the fact that I miss you and am worried about putting too much work on you and it all makes me unhappy."

"Well taking care of the kids is going to get easier. I'm fine with the added work and you know I am just a phone call or text away." She reasoned. "You mentioned you aren't talking much. But how are things going with your mom when you do talk?"

"It's awkward and it's always about the kids." He confessed. "I know she is sick and doesn't have a lot of time left. But I don't know what to say to her."

"You need to talk to her." She told him quietly. "And I mean really talk to her. You need to talk until you work some of these issues out. Harvey, there's something I never told you and I need you to hear me out."

"Ok…"

She could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to anticipate what she was about to say. "It's about my father."

"Oh."

The look on his face turned to one of relief and she took a deep breath before continuing. "You gave me the evidence I needed to turn him in for killing my mom, and I will forever be grateful to you for doing that because it was a way for you to show that you really cared about me. But did you ever think about why I didn't just use it and turn him in?"

"I figured it had something to do with the timing." He shrugged. "I gave it to you right after we broke up. Then the Xavier thing happened and we were dealing with the aftermath of that. Then he died and it became a moot point."

"It's true that the timing was never perfect." She agreed. "But also, I realized that turning him in would have been revenge. I hated him but I didn't want revenge. I did at first. I wanted nothing more than to see him behind bars in a prison jumpsuit living there for the rest of his life. But then I realized that seeing him behind bars wouldn't matter as much if he didn't see his actions as wrong. As stupid and naïve as it sounds, deep down I really wanted to use that evidence to make him apologize. I thought that if I confronted him with the evidence I could get him to finally see what he did was wrong and he might actually realize that he was an incredibly shitty father."

She laughed. "It's crazy to think that though because he never would have apologized and he never would have thought he was wrong. And even if by some miracle I did get him to apologize, we never would have been close like a father and daughter should be. I still hated him for what he did to my mom and the way he treated me. But I just…I wanted some closure. I wanted to lay everything out on the table…every grievance, every hurt, every slight…And I never got that with him. But you could have that with your mom. She's there…you're there…"

She saw that he was completely silent and deep in thought so she let her words stay with him for a moment before continuing. "I'm not saying you have to become super close with her or anything like that. But this is the perfect time to talk to her. I don't want you to pass up this chance and then end up regretting it later, because that part really sucks. Trust me. I know."

"I didn't realize you felt that way about your father." He said after being quiet for a few minutes.

"It's not something I like to think or talk about much." She admitted.

"I can understand that." He nodded.

"Look, ultimately the choice is yours whether you talk to her or not. I have an opinion about it, just as Marcus does, and your mom does as well. But the choice is yours and I'll support you no matter what you choose."

"But you think I should air everything out with her." He pointed out.

"I do." She nodded. "Not just for your sake, but for hers as well. There are a lot of years of hurt between you two and you need to work it out. But you have to do what feels right for you."

"I'll think about it." He agreed.

"That's all I ask." She gave him a huge smile.

"Hey, by the way, are you still at work?" He asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"It's really late."

"I know." She nodded. It was almost midnight and she wished she was able to go home. But she still had to finish two briefs so they could go out first thing in the morning. Contrary to what she told Harvey a few minutes ago, taking care of both her clients and Harvey's was proving to be difficult and time consuming.

Last night she didn't leave the office until 11:30. Tonight she wasn't sure when she would finally leave. But she was certain she just needed to get into a routine. Once she got every case that was pressing sorted, things would calm down. They had to. Keeping this pace up for two months would likely kill her.

"I knew this was a horrible idea." He sighed. "You're stuck at the office because you're covering my clients, aren't you?"

"No." She lied. "I'm stuck at the office because I have a lot of my own work to do since we were up in Boston after the accident and I don't like going home knowing you aren't there." That last part was true. It was different going home and knowing that Harvey wasn't going to come through the front door at any moment and she was going to have to sleep in that big bed by herself.

It wasn't fun. Although she understood and supported him staying in Boston to help, there was a small part of herself that was selfish and wanted him with her always.

"You need to go home and take care of yourself." He reminded her.

"I know and I am taking care of myself." She argued. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"See you're wrong because I'm pretty sure that's one of my main job responsibilities as your husband." He chuckled.

She grinned. "Ok. I'll go home after we end this call. Is that better?" She could work on the briefs in the car and then at home until they were done. But he didn't have to know that.

"Good." He smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too. Will you call me in the morning?"

"Of course I will." He assured her.

"Good night Harvey." She took one last look at his face and then disconnected the call.

* * *

Rebecca got off the elevator and readjusted her bag on her shoulder.

"Finally heading out?" Larry, the night security guard asked.

"Yeah." She chuckled. True to her word, she got her stuff together after she ended the call with him and was headed home. "Finally breaking free of this place for a few hours! Have a good night!"

"You too."

She got out onto the street, only to find that her car wasn't waiting for her. She got out her phone and looked at her text messages. There was an unread text from five minutes ago from her driver saying he would be there in seven minutes. That was ok though.

The streets were surprisingly empty. Though perhaps that was because it was almost 1 am.

She looked left and then right. The only people to her left were some people on the other side of the street walking away from her.

On the right there were two guys who were standing maybe 1000 feet away from her. They were huddled together and kept looking over at her. It was making her uneasy and she vowed that if her car wasn't there soon she would go back inside and wait with Larry.

She kept subtly looking over at the two guys, trying to burn their faces into her memory. For some reason they were making her extremely nervous.

Finally her car pulled up and she breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly got inside and sat down. "I am so glad to see you." She smiled at Steve.

A few weeks ago Ray's wife started having some serious health problems so they decided to still pay him the same but let him work only two days a week. Steve was the new driver who was picking up the slack the other days. He was a middle-aged, heavy-set man who seemed to like to talk too much for her liking. But he was alright and a nice enough guy. She still preferred Ray though and hoped his wife got better soon.

"Don't worry. I'll have you home as soon as possible." Steve smiled.


	30. Chapter 30

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty

The next morning, Rebecca was getting out of her car when she saw Louis. "Hey. What are you doing here so early?"

"There were some things I wanted to get done before a meeting this morning." He explained. "What are you doing here this early?"

"Honestly? Do you swear not to tell Harvey?"

"Yeah." Louis nodded. "Of course."

"I'm drowning in paperwork. Between my cases and trying to get caught up on his, I'm just really busy." She laughed nervously.

"Do you need some help?"

"No." She shook her head. "I appreciate it more than you know, but I'll be fine. I just need to get some of these cases finished. Then things will calm down. But if Harvey knew I was struggling it would only distract him and make him feel guiltier than he already does about staying in Boston right now."

"I understand." Louis nodded. "But the offer won't expire. If you need any help you know where to find me."

"I do appreciate that." She smiled. Then she looked over to her right and saw the same two men who were there last night. They were standing in almost the exact same spot and staring straight at her. She slowly turned to Louis.

"Can you try to subtly look over there at those two guys?" She asked, slightly motioning with her head and eyes which direction she wanted him to look.

She guessed that he was trying to be subtle but he ended up being as subtle as a bull in a china shop.

"Ok. What about them?" Louis asked, still staring at them.

"They were here last night too…and I left at 1am." She explained. "They are creeping me out and I just feel weird about the whole thing."

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." He assured her.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." She wasn't convinced but followed him into the building anyway.

* * *

Harvey entered Marcus' restaurant and looked for Colten. He had only met the man twice. Once was right after Marcus hired him to be the business manager for the restaurants and the other time was at Katie's funeral. Fortunately he remembered what the man looked like. He wanted to come in today and make sure that Colton had things under control while Marcus was in rehab. He spotted Colton sitting at the bar writing in a notebook and headed over.

"I don't know if you remember me…"

"Oh yeah." Colton interrupted. "You're Harvey, right? You're Marcus' brother?"

"That's right." He nodded.

"What can I do for you?"

"Well you know about Marcus' legal troubles, right?"

"Yes." Colton nodded. "I was so glad when Lily told me that Olivia was alright."

"We were too. I don't know what we would have done if she had been hurt any worse." He admitted.

"I was also glad when Lily mentioned Marcus was going to rehab." Colton mentioned. "God knows he needs it."

"Did you know he was drinking?" He asked.

"I didn't know that was becoming an issue for him, but yeah. I saw him drinking here almost every night of the week." Colton explained. "So tell me again, how long is Marcus in rehab for?"

"Two months."

"Shit." Colton whispered. "I was going to quit, but I feel bad about doing it while the guy is in rehab."

"Quitting?" This was news to him. "Why would you be quitting?"

"I can't work for Marcus anymore." Colton explained. "He isn't the type of man I want to work for or associate myself with anymore."

"Is it because of the drinking? The DUI? Because he is getting help for his alcohol issues."

"No." Colton shook his head. He then motioned for Harvey to follow him into the back. He shut the door behind them. "It's because he embezzled $150,000 from the restaurants and then lied about it when I confronted him."

"You have to be mistaken." Harvey defended Marcus. "He wouldn't do that kind of thing."

"I have the proof." Colton unlocked the top drawer of the desk and pulled out a set of papers. "It's all here in the books. Take a look for yourself."

Harvey took a few minutes and looked over the documents. He saw that Marcus really did take the money out two weeks ago and then tried to cover it up. But because he wasn't always the smartest guy in the room, he messed up while trying to cover it up and actually made it easier to find the mistake. "Does he know that you are aware of this?"

"I confronted him about it the night before he got the DUI. We fought about it for a long time. I thought about going to the police, but I don't want him to get into even more trouble than he already is right now. It wouldn't be fair to his kids since they just recently lost their mom. So I really just want to quit and forget about all of this."

"Did he say what the money was for?" Harvey asked. He had a feeling it was money that he was using to cover a gambling debt. But he wanted to have as much information as possible before he confronted Marcus about it.

"He wouldn't say." Colton replied. "I tried at least a dozen times to get him to explain and he wouldn't. He even had the balls to lie to my face and repeatedly deny that he did it."

Harvey sighed. "Can you please just stay on until Marcus gets out of rehab? Then you can quit. Hell, I'll even throw in a bonus if that will help."

"I'll stay, even without the bonus." Colton replied. "I love these restaurants and the people here. I just wish Marcus could get his life together.

"Me too." Harvey sighed deeply. "I appreciate you staying on. If you'll excuse me, I need to go figure out why Marcus is self-imploding with horrible decisions."

"Good luck with that." Colton chuckled.

* * *

Rebecca hurried into Louis' office and closed the door behind her. "I think I'm in trouble and I need your help."

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She steadied herself and sat down on his couch. "I just went to the coffee cart and those two guys are still there. They just kept staring at me. It's really starting to creep me out."

"It is odd that they are still there." He agreed.

When she noticed that the guys were still there and still looking at her, she abandoned her plans to get coffee and came straight back. She made a beeline for Louis' office. Normally she would go talk to Donna about it, but she didn't want to have to explain it all to her and she knew that Donna would end up telling Harvey. There was no possible way Donna would keep something like this from Harvey. She was pretty sure Louis would though.

Besides, she wasn't sure there was any reason to tell Harvey. It was most likely a coincidence and she was being overly paranoid.

"They just kept staring at me…again."

"Ok." Louis took a deep breath. "Here is what we are going to do. We are going to leave at the same time tonight. And when we leave, we will see if those guys are still there. But there is no way you are leaving this office by yourself until we know more about this situation."

"Am I being paranoid?"

"It's possible." He shrugged. "They could be surveilling someone else, or they could be after you. But either way, we'll get to the bottom of it."

"Thank you Louis." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Isn't Charles a former FBI agent?" Louis pointed out. "Maybe he could look into this for you."

"You really think we should bring him in on this?" She wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not.

"It's worth checking into." He shrugged.

"But if we start having him look into things, what if he decides to look a little closer at the other people in Donna's life?" She pointed out.

"You are worried about Mike."

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Ok. I guess we won't call Charles."

* * *

Harvey waited in the private room for Marcus to come in. Technically Marcus wasn't allowed visitors until he reached the two week mark of his stay. But since Harvey was also his lawyer, he was able to slip in and was able to have their visit be in a private room. There was video being monitored, but no audio recording. That was a good thing because he didn't want anyone listening to the conversation he was about to have with his younger brother.

All the way from the restaurant to the rehab facility he had tried to remind himself that he had to do his best not to be angry with his brother. But first it was the drunk driving. Then he found out about the gambling. Now there was embezzlement.

He knew that the last couple of months had been difficult for him to say the least. He knew that Marcus was spiraling out of control. But enough was enough.

Marcus came in through the door leading to the living area and sat down across from Harvey.

"I didn't expect to see you so soon." Marcus greeted. "Did something happen? Are the kids ok? Is mom ok? Did something happen with the case?"

"Everyone is fine and there is no news on your case." Harvey explained calmly.

"Then what are you doing here?" Marcus chuckled. "Did you already miss me that much?"

"No. It's not that." He shook his head.

"Then what's going on?"

"I don't feel like I expect too much from you." He sighed. "I don't expect you to be perfect. I certainly don't expect you to be exactly like me. But I do expect you to be honest with me and make sure that I know everything that could blow up in your face."

"What are you talking about Harvey?"

"I'm talking about the fact that I had a very interesting chat with Colton today." He saw Marcus start to squirm. "He told me some very interesting things."

"Like what?"

"C'mon…" He scoffed. "You know exactly what Colton told me. What I want to know is why you didn't tell me. Or why you didn't come to me first instead of stealing $150,000 from your business and then trying to cover it up?"

"Harvey, you wouldn't…"

"No." He interrupted. "Don't Harvey me. I'm tired of hearing that. Your answer better not be that I don't know what it has been like around here the past twenty years or I wouldn't understand. Cut out the bullshit and start telling me the whole truth for once."

Marcus sighed and looked down at the table. "Alright. I started gambling again about four months ago. They were just small bets and I thought I could manage that. I thought I could keep from getting in over my head. But then the small bets got larger and larger and I just kept losing But I couldn't seem to stop gambling. The next thing I knew I owed a bookie $750,000."

"Jesus, Marcus that's a hell of a lot of money…" He sighed. "Why didn't you come to me?"

"I was ashamed, alright? Is that what you want to hear? I felt like shit about it and I panicked. But I still thought I could get the money. I thought about selling the house and the business, but it still wouldn't have been enough."

"Where is this bookie?" He asked. "Do you still owe him anything?"

"I still owe him $500,000." Marcus sighed. "He's listed under Tommy Bonn in my phone."

"I'll take care of the rest of your gambling debt." He sighed. "But there can be no more gambling at all…ever. I'm talking not even small bets."

"Trust me. I don't want to gamble again for the rest of my life. I don't even want to flip a coin."

"That's just the problem though. I feel like I can't trust you anymore. Every time I think I know everything I need to know you spring more stuff on me. I'm not even sure I know who you are anymore."

"Then you really won't like what I'm about to say." Marcus sighed.

He hung his head for a moment before looking at his younger brother. "Let me guess. There is still more to this story than what you've told me."

"Oh yeah."

"Do I want to know?"

"No. You probably don't. I know I wish I didn't know the whole story." Marcus warned. "It is something I wish I could go back in time and stop from happening, but that isn't the way life works. It's also something I haven't told anyone, but since you now know everything else, you deserve to know just how much of a jackass and screw up I really am."

"Ok." Harvey sighed. "Tell me."

"Katie's death…it wasn't a robbery gone wrong. There is a reason they haven't found the people responsible for it. It was a message from Tommy and his people. He was apparently upset that I hadn't paid him back yet and so he retaliated by…"

"By killing your wife?" Harvey interrupted, getting furious all over again. "What the hell, Marcus? Why would you get in this deep with someone like that?"

"I didn't mean to! It snowballed so quickly and I couldn't stop it!" Marcus yelled, starting to cry. "I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could do any one of twenty things differently because then Katie would still be alive. But I can't."

"Let me get this straight." He stated, trying hard not to pummel Marcus into the ground. "Your wife…the mother of your children…she's dead all because you couldn't control yourself with your gambling addiction and you were too stubborn to come to me or anyone else for help?"

"Pretty much." Marcus nodded, continuing to cry.

"I should let you rot in jail for years for the DUI charge." He was so furious that all he wanted to do was beat the shit out of his brother. All of this…the DUI, endangering Olivia's life, Katie's death…all of it was caused by Marcus' selfishness and stubbornness. "I can't even look at you right now without wanting to punch your face into the ground."

"Harvey…"

"No." He held up his finger to silence Marcus. "I don't want to hear anything else from you. You've said enough. Now I've got to go clean up yet another one of your messes." Without another word he left the room.

It was only a few minutes until he was back in the car. He immediately punched the steering wheel several times, using that as a way to try and get some of his anger and frustration out.

He leaned his head back and sighed. This was a terrible situation to be in. He would have to go home and get Marcus' phone, call this Tommy Bonn and figure out how to pay him the rest of the gambling debt. It was the only way to make sure that nothing else happened to anyone in the family. If this bookie was willing to have Katie killed, there was no telling what else he would do.

After that, he wasn't sure what to do. A part of him wanted to just leave Boston and never come back. After knowing the whole story, Marcus definitely didn't deserve his help with anything. But he couldn't do that to the kids. He had to do whatever he could to protect them. His mom wouldn't be able to take care of them by herself and the last thing he wanted was for Ethan and Olivia to end up with strangers.

This was a mess.


	31. Chapter 31

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-One

Harvey's phone began to vibrate so he took it out of his pocket and saw it was Louis. "This really isn't a good time."

"I have a situation and I don't know how to handle it." Louis started.

"I can't help you right now. I'm kind of in the middle of my own situation that I don't know how to handle."

"It concerns Rebecca."

He sighed. Louis knew he would drop everything if something was going on with Rebecca so he wouldn't invoke her name if it wasn't important. "Ok, Louis. What's going on?"

"She'll likely kill me for telling you about this, but like I said, I don't know what to do."

"Louis, just tell me what is going on. Is she alright?" He was starting to get nervous.

"Last night when she left the office she noticed two men on the street and they were staring at her. This morning those two guys were there again. And when she went out for coffee a little bit ago the same two guys were still there watching her." Louis paused for a moment. "I tried to tell her that it doesn't mean they are stalking her. I tried to play it off as they could be surveillance hired to tail someone else. But she is clearly freaked out about it. Honestly, so am I."

"Why didn't she call me about this?" He asked. His mind immediately went to a dark place. What if those guys were sent by Marcus' bookie? What if this was the guy's way of saying 'pay me or else Rebecca will suffer the same fate as Katie'?

"She didn't want you to worry. So I suggested that she call Charles. I thought maybe he could figure out who the two guys were since he works in surveillance. But she didn't want to do that either because of Mike. Though I think she is wrong and he could help with this."

"Shit." He sighed.

"I told her I would leave with her tonight to make sure she wasn't alone going out of the building. But I don't know what else to do."

"Louis, I know it is a lot to ask, but for the next couple of days, I need you to basically shadow Rebecca. I don't want her to be alone outside of home and the office." Between the security of the office and their home she would be protected.

"What's going on?" Louis asked. "Do you think that they are actually stalking her for some reason?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "I just…with everything that has happened in my family lately, I don't want to take any chances. Can you do that please?"

"Yeah." Louis agreed. "Of course. I'll do whatever you guys need."

"Thank you. Let me know if anything changes." He ended the call and threw his phone onto the passenger seat. Now he was even more determined to get the money to the bookie today. If there was even a chance that the guys Rebecca saw were sent by this guy, then he had to do everything he could to protect her.

He needed to make a few calls to the bank and try to get them to release $500,000 in a matter of hours because he was determined to get this taken care of by the end of the day. There was no way he would let Rebecca stay in danger one moment longer than necessary.

* * *

Louis sighed after Harvey ended the call, his finger hovering over the name in his contacts list. He finally grew a pair and connected the call.

"Charles Wilson."

"Hey Charles. This is Louis…Donna's…"

"Oh hey Louis." Charles greeted. "What's up?"

"I need a favor and I'm hoping you will be able to help."

"Sure." Charles agreed. "Just tell me what you need."

* * *

Harvey tried to enter the house quietly. It was late and he was hoping that everyone was asleep by now. The last thing he needed was to run into anyone right now. He just needed to get to the bathroom and clean up a little.

Paying Marcus' bookie had been an interesting experience that he never wanted to go through again. But at least he paid everything off and the debt was cleared. Hopefully that meant the guys following Rebecca would leave her alone now.

He dropped his keys. After bending over to pick them up, he couldn't help but groan a little from the pain where they kicked him in the stomach. While he was pretty sure he didn't have any broken ribs, but he wouldn't be surprised if they were bruised.

He continued on his way to the downstairs bathroom. It didn't take long until he was in the hallway and only a few steps away when his mom appeared across from him at the other end of the hallway. While he had taken a look at himself in the car mirror earlier and didn't think he looked that bad, the horrified look on her face proved otherwise.

"Harvey…what the hell happened to you?" She rushed over to him and reached out to touch him.

"It's nothing." He moved back to avoid her touch, the motion causing him to wince in pain. "I'm fine."

"No, you're clearly not fine." She argued. She put her hand on his shoulder and gently led him into the bathroom. "C'mon."

He went willingly because at this point he didn't have it in him to argue anymore.

"Sit." She commanded, pointing to the toilet.

He did what he was told and watched as she grabbed a clean washcloth from the shelf. She ran it under running water and then rang out the excess. "This might sting a little."

That phrase took him back to when he was twelve.

" _Harvey Reginald Specter!" Lily yelled. "What happened to you?"_

" _Nothing mom." He said quickly, trying to rush past her._

 _She grabbed his arm and practically dragged him into the bathroom, closing the door behind them. "Sit." She commanded. "And tell me what happened."_

 _He watched as she got out a washcloth, antibacterial cream and some bandages. He didn't want to tell her what happened, but he figured he probably should before one of the other parents called her._

" _This might sting a little." She warned._

" _Marcus has been getting bullied."_

" _What? She looked confused as she pressed the washcloth on the cut on his bottom lip. "He hasn't said anything to me or your father about that."_

" _He's been too afraid to say anything to you guys."_

" _How long has this been going on?"_

" _Apparently a few weeks." He replied. "He told me about it yesterday."_

" _So what did you do?"_

" _I went and confronted the kids bullying him. They won't be a problem for him anymore." He replied confidently and with a smile on his face._

" _Harvey, what have we told you about fighting?" She cleaned up the cut above his right eye._

" _I didn't throw the first punch." He pointed out. "I only fought back after they started it."_

" _You shouldn't have been in that position to begin with." She scolded._

" _So I shouldn't have tried to protect Marcus? Is that what you are saying?" He scoffed. "C'mon mom. You can't deny that Marcus needs protecting. He always has and he most likely always will. Besides, he is my brother. I can't just sit back and watch him get bullied when I can go do something about it. So I went and I fixed it."_

" _I'm not saying that you shouldn't try to protect him. I am proud of you for wanting to help protect your brother. But there are other ways to fix it than going and threatening someone else." She pointed out, putting the antibacterial cream on the cut above his eye. "You should have come to me or your father."_

" _No offense, but my way was a lot easier and more effective. You guys would have just talked to the parents and then Marcus would be bullied even more."_

" _Alright. You're allowed your opinion. Just know that you are grounded for a week." She told him._

" _But that's not fair!" He protested._

" _You know the rules about fighting in this family." She explained. "We have a zero tolerance rule about it."_

" _Can't you make an exception in this case because I was trying to protect my brother?"_

" _No. I can't." She shook her head. "You have to learn that violence is not the answer."_

"Harvey? Did you hear me?"

His mom's voice brought him out of his trip down memory lane. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"What happened?" She asked. "It had to do with Marcus, didn't it?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "He still owed some money to a bookie. So I went and paid off his debt."

"You paid it off and they still did this to you?"

"Trust me…It could have been a lot worse." He was well aware that he got off easy by only getting beaten up a little.

"You're still protecting your brother." She let out a small chuckle. "I can't tell you how happy and proud that makes me."

"He's my brother and I love him no matter what…even when I want to strangle him for his stupid decisions." He explained.

"You just don't have that same feeling towards me." She pointed out as she put the antibacterial cream on his wound.

"Look…I…"

"It's ok Harvey." She sighed. "I know I hurt you and I know you can't forgive me."

"I want to though." He admitted quietly.

"You don't have to say that just because I am sick." She told him.

"I'm not." He assured her. "Look, I'm not going to lie and I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I hate what you did. I hate that you cheated on dad. I hate that it broke up our family. I hate that you made me lie for you. I hate that I formed this hard exterior where I can't accept any kind of betrayal or disloyalty from others. I hate that it shaped who I was and made it almost impossible for me to form a healthy relationship. And I'll hate those things for the rest of my life. But I think I'm finally ready to forgive you."

"Why now?" She asked. "Are you sure it isn't just because I'm sick?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's not just because of that, although I won't lie and say that isn't a factor. To be completely honest, Rebecca wants to have kids. And I knew she wanted to have kids before I even proposed but in the back of my mind I always thought I could put it off. I thought I could dodge the question until she gave up asking. I mean I've been dragging my feet about it ever since we got married. But that isn't healthy or mature and it sure as shit isn't fair to her. I haven't wanted to have kids for several reasons. One of those is because I don't think I'd be a good father, although being here with the kids is making me rethink that. But there is one reason in particular that I have never told her about…have never quite wanted to even admit to myself or anyone else. Deep down, I have this fear that I will screw up my kids like I was screwed up. I fear I will do something to make them to hate me. I fear that I will perpetuate the same cycle as the one that's happened between us."

"I'm sorry you feel like I have screwed you up." She apologized. "It was truly never my intention to harm you. But you shouldn't fear that Harvey. You wouldn't make the same mistakes I made and your kids would never hate you. Whether you want to believe it or you're your heart is too big and too caring to do what I did."

"I know that you never meant to hurt me." He acknowledged. "Deep down, I think I've always known it. I just never wanted to admit it. I never thought that your intentions would matter much. But I think I'm finally ready to forgive you. I think I have to forgive you now, because hanging on to this anger just doesn't feel right or good anymore. It physically hurts to carry it around and I'm tired of it. If I truly want to move forward with my life and embrace the possibility of the future, I need to let go of the past."

"I can't tell you how happy I am to hear you say that." She smiled widely. "And I want you to know, that I forgive you too."

"Forgive me?" He scoffed. "For what? I didn't do anything wrong in that situation."

"No. You're right. You didn't do anything wrong with that situation. I forgive you for everything you have said or done to hurt me these last twenty years and for you being gone all those years."

"I had my reasons to be gone…very valid reasons."

"Yes, you did, when you were younger. But you're not a child anymore, Harvey and you haven't been for quite some time. You could have stopped this a long time ago but you didn't. And I know it was because you weren't ready to let it go, but it still hurt."

"I can't believe this. You're actually turning this around on me?" He shook his head. He was trying to be calm about this but it seemed ridiculous that she was now forgiving him.

"I'm not turning it around, Harvey. I'm simply saying you don't know what it is like to have a child who acts like you don't even exist…who acts like they don't care if you live or die."

"Well you don't know what it's like to have a mother who asks you to lie to his own father for her." He shot back angrily. "That tore me up inside! It destroyed me!"

"Harvey, I never, ever should have done that. And I have been trying to apologize to you for years. But you haven't wanted to hear it. And until right now you made it very clear to me that you had no interest in whether I lived or died."

"Because I didn't!" He exclaimed.

"Well can't you understand how that could devastate someone?"

"I can understand how this was probably a mistake." He scoffed, getting up. "Because you are the same selfish, self-centered, disloyal woman you always were."

"And you are the same self-absorbed, childish man you always were." She shook her head. "Does it make you feel better to trade insults and call each other names? Because I certainly don't like it."

He didn't say another word, choosing instead to walk to the door. Once his hand was on the doorknob, she spoke again.

"Oh, there you go. Leave. That's what you do best. Take a look in the mirror Harvey. Because I may have neglected my family in the past, but I've been here day in and day out. You on the other hand, have been neglecting this family for as long as I can remember."

He shook his head and left the bathroom.

* * *

"Hey." Rebecca greeted as she picked up the phone. "No facetime tonight?"

"No." He shook his head. "I figured we would do this old school over the phone tonight. How are you?"

"I'm ok." She answered. It was probably a good thing they weren't facetiming tonight because if they were he would see how nervous she was about the guys who were stalking her outside of work. She knew that they were stalking her, even though Louis tried to get her to believe that they might be surveilling someone else. She just didn't know why and it scared the shit out of her. "How are you?"

"I've been better."

"What's wrong?" She asked. "There's something off in your voice. What happened?"

"I had a talk with my mom." He told her. "It didn't go well."

"I'm sorry to hear that." While she was glad he was talking to his mom, she realized that nothing would be solved in just one conversation. She wondered if he realized that too or if he thought things could be solved in 30 minutes like a cheesy sitcom.

"I told her I was ready to forgive her. Then she had the audacity to say she forgave me." He scoffed. "Can you believe that? I didn't do anything wrong."

"Didn't you though?" She said without thinking.

"Great. You're on her side with this too?" He exclaimed.

"C'mon. You know I'm on your side." She assured him. "But think about it from her perspective. She had a son who completely ignored her for twenty years. That has to hurt. There has to be some anger there. But the fact that she was able to express her feelings to you is a good thing, just like you being able to express your feelings to her is a good thing."

He sighed. "I guess."

"I'm proud of you for taking the first step to forgiving her. But it is going to take more than one conversation to fix your problems with your mom."

"I wish I was home with you instead of here."

"I wish that too." She admitted. "But if it helps any, I've decided to come up this weekend."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She told him. "I don't like being away from you. And I want to check on how everyone else is doing too."

"I can't wait to see you." He sighed.

"The feeling is definitely mutual." She told him. "Harvey…I'm proud of you for taking the first step in forgiving your mom. Just don't let her forgiving you derail your progress. Ok?"

"I'll do my best." He told her.

"Ok. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Goodnight." She ended the call and put the phone down because she still had work to get done.


	32. Chapter 32

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Two

Harvey entered his mom's home art studio the next day after taking the kids to school. He had to think quickly to explain the cuts on his face this morning when the kids asked him what happened, settling on the lie that he fell. Olivia bought the story immediately. He could tell that Ethan wasn't convinced, but he thankfully didn't make a big deal about it.

"Harvey." His mom greeted, putting down her paint brush.

"Do you have a moment?"

"Depends on why you are in here." She answered. "If you want to fight again, I'd rather you just walk back out the door. I don't have it in me today to go another twenty rounds with you after what happened last night."

"I'm not here to fight." He told her. "I'm actually here to apologize for the way I acted last night."

"It's fine." She shrugged. "I should have known that your forgiveness was too much to ask for."

"No it isn't fine." He sighed. "You took care of me last night and I appreciate it. We started to make progress and then I stomped all over it like it meant nothing."

"Harvey…"

"The thing is that I'm so angry." He interrupted. "I'm angry about all of it and I don't want to be angry anymore but I've held in this anger for so long that I don't how to stop…or even if I can stop. It's been this security blanket that I've covered myself with all these years. I've convinced myself that I'm the one who was right and that I did nothing wrong. But that's not the truth and I need to own up to it."

He paused for a moment because the next part of what he had to say was hard for him. "I'm sure that it hasn't been easy for you to see me cut you out of my life for so long."

"No it hasn't." She agreed. "And I appreciate you recognizing that."

"The thing is, without the anger…I don't know…it's like I'd be someone else or something. It feels weird to even think about letting it go, even though I know I need to now."

"Well let me start by saying how sorry I am for all the pain and anger I have caused you."

"You don't need to tell me how sorry you are." He told her. "You've done that enough."

"Yes...I do need to say it." She insisted. "Harvey, we both played a part in the way the last twenty years have gone. Neither of us is entirely blameless. But I was the adult and I put you in that position. It was the worst position you could ever be put in because you essentially had to choose which parent you were more loyal to and I never should have done that to you. It wasn't fair to you and it was the wrong thing to do. I understand your anger. Not a day has gone by that I don't understand why you hate me. I was your mother. I was supposed to protect you, not scar you like that. Harvey, I am so sorry."

She started to cry. Seeing it was like a switch turned in his brain. "I don't hate you, mom." He whispered softly. "I just hate what you did and I'll probably always hate it, but I don't hate you."

"I'll take that." She chuckled softly, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I love you Harvey."

She moved towards him and the next thing he knew he was hugging her for the first time in two decades. It felt right, like a new start. It didn't mean they were going to be close yet, but it was a good starting point.

"I love you too mom."

* * *

Rebecca got out of the car and looked at Louis as he came around the other side. She thought that having Louis pick her up from home and bring her to the office was overkill, but he told her he was going to stay with her until they figured out what was going on. She was glad to have such a good friend. She looked around.

"They aren't here." She smiled.

"Yeah." Louis agreed. "I don't see them either."

"Maybe I was just being paranoid." She laughed.

"Well either way, I'm just glad they seem to be gone."

"Thank you Louis." She turned to smile at him. "You are a really good friend and I appreciate you not telling anyone about this, especially since it turned out to be nothing."

"You're welcome." He nodded.

"Can you imagine what Harvey would have said if he knew about this?" She laughed. "I'm glad he doesn't know."

"Yeah." Louis nodded. "Let's get inside."

* * *

Later that morning, Harvey was parked outside the rehab facility. He was about to go in when his phone rang. Seeing the caller id, he answered it quickly. "What is it, Louis?"

"I just wanted to let you know that this morning those two guys weren't outside the building." Louis explained. "Looks like it isn't something we need to be worried about after all."

"Good." Harvey breathed a huge sigh of relief. Paying the bookie really did alleviate the danger surrounding Rebecca. Though it did make him even more furious now that he knew for sure that Marcus' behavior had put another family member in danger.

"Also, I know she didn't want me to, but I called Charles to look into it anyway." Louis added. "I figured she would already be mad at me for telling you about it. I might as well go ahead and do that too."

"Really?" He was aware Rebecca would be mad at Louis for that as well. He was surprised that Louis went ahead and did another thing he knew Rebecca would be upset about. "What did Charles have to say?"

"He could only tell me that it wasn't any federal agency watching her. Since they weren't here this morning I told him he could stop and didn't have to look any deeper. I hope that's ok."

"That's fine." He agreed. There was no reason to look any harder because he knew who the guys were and that they wouldn't be back. "I appreciate your help with this Louis. I owe you one."

"Nonsense. You know I'd do anything for my friends. You and Rebecca are my friends. So it's fine. You don't owe me anything." Louis assured him. "I'm just glad that everything is back to normal now."

"Yeah. Me too."

"I'll talk to you later. Don't forget we have the partner meeting later tonight. Do you still want to Skype in for that?"

"Actually, I will just call in. I don't need to Skype." He didn't want to have to answer questions about why his face was battered. It was bad enough that he would have to explain it to Rebecca when she got here this weekend. Telling Jessica and Louis about it too wasn't something he relished.

"Ok. Bye Harvey."

He put the phone down after Louis hung up and sighed. He didn't want to go in but he needed to, so he took a deep breath and exited his car.

* * *

Rebecca was in the middle of typing a brief when her cell phone rang. She answered without looking at the caller id. "Hello?"

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." Lily greeted.

"No." She assured the woman. "Of course not. You could never disturb me. What's up?"

"I don't know if you have talked to Harvey this morning but we seem to have reached a break through today. And I think I have you to thank for that."

"I'm thrilled. I wish I could take the credit for that, but it was all Harvey." She chuckled. "I talked to him this morning but you didn't come up. I did hear about your talk last night when he called yesterday. So I'm guessing it was a better talk than last night?"

"Much better."

"I'm so glad." She couldn't help but smile.

"I'm just so relieved. I think Harvey and I might be able to actually be here in the house together without it being so awkward and uncomfortable."

"That's wonderful news."

"I feel like I have you to thank for this." Lily said softly.

"No, you don't." She assured the woman. "I didn't have anything to do with it."

"Yes you did, even if you aren't aware of it. Katie always did a good job of keeping me up to date on any updates about Harvey and his life that she was aware of. We had countless conversations where we worried that Harvey would hold this grudge until he died and about how he was going to end up dying alone. But then you came along and all of that changed. I now know he will be ok because he has you in his life."

"I don't think it's really fair to give me the credit for the changes in Harvey." She deflected. "He has been the one doing the hard work of growing up and everything."

"You were the catalyst though." Lily pointed out. "He wouldn't have started down this path without you."

"Ok." She laughed. "I'll take 10% of the credit and he can have the other 90%."

"Deal." Lily laughed.

* * *

"I paid off your bookie." Harvey said without any preamble when he went to go see him. "Everyone is safe now."

"Thank you." Marcus replied.

He could see that his brother looked contrite but he was still angry with him. "Did you know that Rebecca was next?"

"Next how?"

"She had men following her…men that were sent by your bookie." He explained. "She was next and could have ended up dead like Katie if I hadn't paid your debt."

"Shit." Marcus sighed. "Harvey, you have to know that I never meant for them to go after Reb…"

"I don't give a damn what you meant anymore Marcus!" He yelled, interrupting him. "You have put so many family members in danger lately that it isn't even funny at this point. It never seems to end with you."

"At least now the bookie is out of our lives. Everything will be alright."

"Are you stupid or just living in a fantasy world?" He scoffed. "You were arrested for some very serious charges…charges that I don't know if I can get you out of."

"Of course you can." Marcus chuckled. "You're Harvey Specter."

"I am…but I'm not a miracle worker." He pointed out. "There is a very real chance that you are going away to prison for this."

"Harvey, I'm sorry…"

"I know. You're always sorry. But here's what is going to happen, Marcus." He interrupted his brother. "You're going to shut up and listen to me. You understand?"

"Yes." Marcus nodded.

"I've tried my whole life to do my best to protect you because I thought that was what you needed. I thought that if I protected you from stuff and took care of your problems for you, it would help you focus more on getting better and doing better. I thought that I was helping you. But I was wrong about that and I'll take responsibility for it. What I was really doing was enabling and hurting you. Protecting you and shielding you from everything was the worst thing I could have done for you because it made you completely unprepared to take care of your problems yourself." He explained.

"That's not true." Marcus interjected.

"I think your recent life choices prove me to be correct." He pointed out. "Keeping your gambling debt a secret, allowing a bookie to come into your home and kill your wife, developing a drinking problem, driving drunk with your daughter in the car, embezzling money from your business, putting Rebecca at risk…"

"Ok! I get it!" Marcus yelled, interrupting his list. "You can stop now!"

"Do you?" He asked. "Do you really get it? Because your actions have hurt everyone you say you care about. There hasn't been a single person in this family who has been immune to the consequences of your actions…and no one has suffered more than your children."

"I'm well aware of that." He sighed. "Ethan and Olivia have suffered a lot because of my mistakes."

"I was also talking about your other child…the one that Katie was going to tell you about that night."

He watched as Marcus' face twisted.

"Harvey…Bro, that's not funny." Marcus shook his head.

"I'm not joking." He said. "Does it look like I am joking?"

"Why would you lie about something that cruel?" Marcus yelled.

"I'm not lying. You can ask anyone because we all knew about it. She kept it a secret because she wanted to surprise you."

"What the hell, man?" Marcus continued to yell. "Are you really that mad at me that you want to hurt me this much?"

"I'm just trying to wake you up and make you see that your downward spiral needs to stop right now. It's called tough love."

"No it's called being a giant dickhead. Just leave, Harvey. And don't come back because I don't need you here anymore."

"Fine." He scoffed, leaving the room and slamming the door.


	33. Chapter 33

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Three

Although Rebecca was getting used to the route from the airport to Lily's house, she still put the address in the GPS of the car the next day just to make sure she didn't accidentally get lost. While she had told Harvey she was coming for the weekend, she purposely neglected to tell him that she was leaving New York City at noon and would be there in the afternoon. She hoped it would be a good surprise.

She finally had a handle on all of her cases, as well as his. Everything that was urgent was taken care of. And while she had brought some work with her to do on the plane, she didn't anticipate having to work this weekend. Everything else could wait until Monday. She thought back to their phone conversation last night.

" _And that is where we are financially as a firm." Louis concluded._

" _Seems like we are well on our way to having a very lucrative quarter." Jessica chuckled._

" _Yeah." Harvey spoke up. "Seems like it."_

" _If there isn't any other business to discuss, I think we can end this meeting." Jessica said after a forty-five minute partner meeting. "Does anyone have anything else they want to say?"_

" _Nope." Louis shook his head._

" _I'm good." Harvey said, his voice coming from speakerphone._

" _I'm good too." Rebecca said._

" _Then the meeting is adjourned." Jessica said._

" _Goodnight everyone." Rebecca smiled at them before picking up her stuff and heading to the hallway. She took Harvey off of speakerphone. "Hey, you are off speakerphone now."_

" _Finally." He sighed._

" _What's wrong?" She asked. "You sounded weird during the meeting and you were unusually quiet. I know you don't like these meetings, but you usually say more than just one or two word answers."_

" _It's just been a long day…a long week." He explained. "I'm just exhausted."_

" _Are you sure that's all?" She pressed, making it into her office and closing the door before going to sit down at her desk. "It sounds like something more than that."_

" _That's all."_

 _She didn't quite believe him, but knew if he wasn't ready to say what was bothering him yet, she would drop it. Besides, she planned on going up to Boston tomorrow so she would get it out of him then._

" _I am excited to see you this weekend though." He told her._

" _I'm excited too. I would agree that it has been a long week. I can't wait until I'm back in your arms, even if it is only for a couple of days."_

" _These two months will go by quickly, right?" He chuckled._

" _They better." She laughed._

" _I should let you go."_

" _Yeah. I still have a little bit of work to do and then I have to go home and pack so I can leave straight from the office tomorrow." She explained._

" _Do you want me to come pick you up from the airport?" He offered._

" _No, it's fine." She assured him. "I'll just rent a car."_

" _Ok. I'll talk to you in the morning. I love you."_

" _I love you too Harvey."_

She was worried about him because he sounded off somehow. She tried to shrug it off as him being tired or stressed, but it seemed like more than that. So she was determined to find out what was going on. She also wanted to make sure that everyone was adjusting as well as possible to the newest changes in their routine. While she stayed in constant contact with everyone, she wanted to check on them in person.

She pulled up to Lily's house and turned the car off. It didn't take her long to get out and get her bags from the backseat. She walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. It only took a moment for Ethan to open the door.

"Hey!" She greeted with a huge smile.

"Aunt Becca!" He immediately threw his arms around her for a hug.

She was surprised by his reaction but hugged him back.

"No one told me you were coming!" He said, pulling away from her. "Nothing is wrong though, right?"

"No. Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to come visit. Uncle Harvey knew, but maybe he wanted it to be a surprise." She shrugged. She hated that Ethan's first reaction to her being there now was that something was wrong but she understood that reaction. "How are you?"

"Ok I guess." He shrugged. "Uncle Harvey is actually talking and smiling at grandma. It's so weird."

"Weird bad or weird good?" She chuckled. From the conversations she had with Lily and Harvey, it seemed like they had gone from avoiding each other completely to being best friends. She could see how that would be jarring for him.

"Weird good, but it is borderline creepy." He laughed.

She grinned. "I understand what you mean. It will probably take some getting used to."

"They made dinner together last night and were laughing the entire time." Ethan told her.

"Really?" She chuckled. "Well it may seem weird, but it is a good thing that they are starting to get along."

"I'm so glad you are here." He sighed. "I like our phone calls, but I'm glad you are actually here to talk to."

"Me too." She assured him, giving him another quick hug before coming into the house. "Where is everyone? The house seems quiet."

"Grandma is upstairs painting." He explained. "Uncle Harvey is picking up Olivia from her after-school dance class."

"She can still participate in that with her broken arm?"

"Yeah. I guess so." He told her with a shrug. "They should be home in a little bit."

"Ok." She nodded. "You want to come with me while I say hi to your grandma?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "I'm going to go watch some TV."

"Ok. Do you want to help me cook dinner tonight? You can tell me all about school and how creepy it is watching Uncle Harvey and grandma get along. We can be the ones making dinner and laughing the entire time tonight."

"Sounds good." He smiled.

"Awesome." She grinned, high-fiving him. She climbed the stairs and went to Lily's art studio. "Knock knock." She announced as she stood in the doorway. "Miss me?"

Lily turned around and smiled. "Of course I did! But what are you doing here?"

"I guess Harvey really didn't tell anyone I was coming up for the weekend." She laughed, hugging Lily.

"No, he didn't say anything to me about it." Lily chuckled, pulling out of the hug.

"I hope it is ok that I'm here."

"You don't ever have to worry about that." Lily smiled. "You are welcome here anytime and this is a wonderful surprise."

"How are you doing?" She asked.

"Eh." She shrugged. "While I'm happy things with Harvey are going better, I'm still worried about Marcus and the kids."

"Ethan seems to be doing fairly well." She pointed out. "Or is that just a front?"

"It depends on what day it is." Lily explained. "Some days he is ok and then others he is more sullen and quiet."

"I'll talk to him while we make dinner tonight." She promised.

"You don't have to make…"

"It's the least I can do." She interrupted. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Alright." Lily smiled. "Thank you."

"How is Olivia doing?"

"She is blissfully unaware of what is happening and I am so thankful for that. She asks for her father a lot but it is usually easy to distract her with something else." Lily explained.

"Good." She nodded. "How is Harvey doing?"

"I'm sure you talk to him more than I do, you should know." Lily laughed.

"I know what he wants me to know." She corrected her. "There is only so much prodding into his feelings I can do over the phone. I want to know how you think he is really doing."

"He is doing very well with this kids and I think that surprises him. As for how he is doing with Marcus, that I have no clue about and you'll have to ask him. He's been skittish about some things."

"Fair enough." She nodded. "Do you have any preference about what I make for dinner?"

"Anything is fine with me."

"Ok. I'll go down and take a look at what is in the refrigerator."

* * *

Harvey opened the front door and let Olivia inside. She had been talking nonstop since he picked her up from her dance class. First it was about the class, then about school and then about her friends, Madeline and Aubree. While he loved his niece and loved knowing everything she thought was special, he would have liked a few moments of silence in the car.

"Whose car is it in the driveway?" He asked Ethan when he entered the living room.

"Aunt Becca's." Ethan replied.

"She's here already?" He couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah. I think she is in the kitchen." Ethan nodded.

"I wanna see Aunt Becca!" Olivia practically screamed, running full force into the kitchen.

Harvey followed her in, walking in on Rebecca hugging Olivia.

"Oh, I missed you." Rebecca said to the girl.

"I missed you too." Olivia smiled, pulling out of the hug. "Can you read me a bedtime story tonight?"

"Of course I can!" Rebecca chuckled. "I'll read you whatever book you want."

"Yes! I'm going to go pick it out now!" She ran upstairs to look at her books.

Once Olivia was gone, he walked straight up to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and captured her lips in a kiss. She responded by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing herself up against him so he guided her to the kitchen island counter, effectively trapping her there.

After a few moments he reluctantly pulled away. "Hey."

"Hey." She greeted with a smile that turned into a frown. "So now I finally know the real reason why you have been dodging me on Facetime…what the hell happened to you?"

Her words were soft and he knew from her tone that she wasn't mad at him, just concerned. He thought about telling her everything that had happened, but something stopped him. He didn't want to put that burden on her too. It was bad enough that he knew the things he knew. He didn't see why anyone else should have to know the truth behind Katie's death and Marcus' actions.

"Marcus owed a bookie a little bit of money so I paid him off." He explained. It was a partial truth, one that he could easily tell and not feel too guilty about. After all, he was protecting her. He didn't want her to worry and he didn't want her to know that the guys watching her were from the bookie and could have killed her. So he justified it that way.

"You paid them and they still beat you up?" She tenderly ran her hand over the cuts on his face.

"You should see the other guy." He grinned.

"No, Harvey. Don't joke about it. This is serious." She chastised him. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine. I promise." He assured her. "I'm actually perfect now that you are here. I thought you weren't coming in until later."

"I decided to surprise you. I couldn't wait to see you." She explained, giving him a quick kiss.

"I am definitely surprised and thrilled." He started to nuzzle her neck.

She moaned softly. "Don't think that you can do that and I'll forget everything. We aren't done with this conversation."

"Alright." He chuckled, whispering into her ear. "I just have a lot of lost time with you that I need to make up for."

"And you wanted to get a head start on that now?" She whispered back. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I just wanted to give you a taste of what's to come later." He pulled back and grinned. "Do you want help with dinner?"

"No thanks. I already have a helper lined up…Ethan. I thought I could talk to him while we cook."

"Ok, just as long as I get some of your undivided attention later." He smirked.

She grinned. "I think that can be arranged."

* * *

"Everything looks great." Lily said, sitting down to dinner with everyone later night.

"Yes, it does." Harvey echoed his mother's statement.

"It's just cheesy bacon ranch chicken casserole." Rebecca replied as she finished getting some on Ethan and Olivia's plates. "It's actually a new recipe so I hope it turns out ok."

"I'm sure it will be as amazing as everything else you cook." Harvey smiled at her. Then he looked over at his mom. "Mom, can you please pass the rolls?"

"Of course, Harvey." She picked up the basket and handed it to him across the table. "Here you go, son."

"Thanks." He smiled at her.

"Everything is good." Lily praised. "I like this recipe."

"Thanks." She smiled. "So Olivia, how is your dance class going?"

Olivia's eyes lit up. "It is so much fun! We learned a new dance routine today and I love it! At first it was really hard to do but then we did it a few times and now it's super easy."

"Can you show me the routine after dinner?" She asked.

"Of course!" Olivia smiled.

"This is really great." Lily complimented her.

"I agree." Harvey nodded.

"Thanks." She smiled, looking at Harvey and then Lily. She then looked at Ethan, who was giving her an 'I told you so' look. She winked at Ethan and then went back to eating.


	34. Chapter 34

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Olivia is finally asleep." Rebecca sighed as she entered the bedroom that evening. She fell onto the bed.

"Did she do that thing where she makes you do all of the character voices and they all have to be different or else you have to start over?" He asked, coming over and laying down next to her.

She closed the gap between them and cuddled up to him. "Yes. And then she told me that my voices aren't as cool as yours. You've really made quite the impression on her this week."

"I have to admit it's been kind of nice taking care of them this week. It's exhausting, I have no clue what I'm doing and I'm pretty sure I've already made a ton of mistakes. But other than that it's kind of fun." He laughed.

"You're being too hard on yourself. Ethan says you are doing a great job." She told him.

"Really?"

"Yes." She pulled away from him and sat up, sitting cross-legged on the bed and staring at him. "Don't look so surprised!"

"I can't help it." He grinned. "I thought I was doing a bad job, but maybe I'm not."

"I wish you had as much faith in yourself about your ability to take care of them as I have in you." She told him.

"I figure it's fine because you have enough faith in me for both of us." He grinned.

"That is true. So how are things with your mom?" She asked. "Ethan says it is weird to see you guys getting along. After seeing the way you were talking to each other at dinner, I have to agree with him. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly enjoying it and not complaining. I love seeing you two actually interact with each other in a nice, civil way. I'm just not used to it."

"Neither am I." He admitted. "But it is long overdue. In hindsight, I should have forgiven her sooner."

"Well maybe if you had tried earlier, you wouldn't have been ready." She pointed out. "Maybe it had to happen now."

"Right when she is sick and dying?" He scoffed. "Yeah that hardly seems fair."

"About that." She bit her lip. "I hope you don't get too mad at me for this. But ever since your mom told me about what was going on with her health, I started looking into things."

"What kind of things?" He asked.

"Clinical trials." She explained. "I've been looking at clinical trials for people with her kind of cancer to see if there is anything out there that looks promising."

"You've really been doing that?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Why would I be mad at you for doing that?"

"Because…" She paused. "I don't know. Why wouldn't I?" She noticed that he was looking at her strangely. "What's with that look?"

"I'm just surprised you would go to that trouble for my mom." He explained. "I know you've had a lot on your plate this week."

"That's true." She agreed. "But she is your mom and she is important to a lot of people…including me."

"Shit. I've been an ass, haven't I?" He groaned.

She laughed. "What do you mean?"

"I've been so wrapped up in everything going on here that I haven't once asked you how you are doing with the news about my mom." He explained. "I know you two are close. At this point you are probably closer to her than I am. This must be really hard for you."

"Yeah." She nodded, willing herself not to cry. "It is hard. The last thing I want is for her to die. There are so many who depend on her and you need a chance to get to know her again. And I was just starting to think I'd gotten a second chance at having a mom figure in my life. But it's ok that you didn't ask me about it. I know you have been incredibly preoccupied with everything…"

"That is no excuse." He shook his head and grabbed her hands. "I'm so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I feel like I just started to get to know her. I don't want to lose her." She explained. "I'm sure you understand how that feels."

"Yeah, I sure do." He nodded. "You know, I don't think I have ever said it, but it really means a lot to me that you are so invested in my family. You've created these deep relationships with everyone and you genuinely care about them. And it isn't just my family here…it's also my work family too. You have thrown yourself into my world."

"Of course I care about everyone." She laughed. "They may be your family, but they became my family too as soon as I agreed to marry you. And for the record, it isn't just your world anymore. It's our world."

"Yeah. It sure is and I love our world." He smiled.

"I do too." She smiled back.

"But I guess what I'm trying to say is not everyone would research clinical trials for their mother in law."

"Well your mom isn't like most mother in laws." She pointed out.

"True. So did you find any clinical trials that might work?"

"I found one that I think she would be perfect for and I already have them holding a spot for her for the next week." She answered.

"That's amazing that you found something already." He smiled.

"Well hold that thought until you hear all of it." She warned. "The clinical trial would require her to stay in the city with me for the next six months."

"Oh."

She watched as he started to understand the ramifications of that. It would mean he would be solely responsible for the kids while Marcus was in rehab.

"I know that wasn't the deal you agreed to before with Marcus." She stated. "You agreed to help with the kids while your mom was also here to help make sure everything went smoothly. If she did join this clinical trial, you would be here with the kids by yourself while your mom comes back with me. I don't know if that is something you would…"

"I can do it." He interrupted her. "I will do it."

"You'll do it? Just like that? Without giving it any thought?"

"Is this the most promising study you found?" He asked.

"Yes, it is." She nodded. "They are in the second stage of testing. The first stage was much more promising than they thought it would be so they are even more optimistic about it than before. I have all of the information in my bag. Do you want to see it?"

"No." He shook his head. "I trust your judgement. If you think this is her best shot, then we need to bring it up to my mom tomorrow and get her to agree to go." He reasoned.

"Are you certain that you are ok with this?" She didn't want to overwhelm him.

"I'm sure." He assured her. "Look, I just got my mom back. I wasted all those years with her. I don't want to lose her right now either. So if this may help, then we have to do it."

"Ok." She nodded. "We'll talk to your mom about it tomorrow. But you realize that after Marcus gets out of rehab…"

"Look, I don't know what's going to happen with his case. There is a chance I can't pull a rabbit out of my hat and get him off these charges. And if my mom is in New York City instead of here, we may have to reevaluate what happens with the kids after he gets out of rehab. But we can cross that bridge if and when we have to."

"Alright." She was quiet for a moment. "So can we talk about your face now?"

He smirked. "Do you want to talk about how handsome it is?"

"Oh trust me, your face is the most handsome one I've ever seen or ever will see." She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "But I want to talk about what happened with Marcus and why you didn't tell me about the bookie."

"I didn't want to worry you." He explained. "And honestly it wasn't that big of a deal. Can we please stop talking about it?"

"Harvey…" She sighed. "Let me ask you something first. What do you think your reaction would be if I kept something like that from you? If the situation was reversed and I went to pay off Marcus' bookie and ended up getting beaten up, would you like it if I kept it from you or would you be upset?"

"I would be furious that you put yourself in that kind of danger in the first place, let alone that you kept it from me." He admitted with a heavy sigh. "But I can handle…"

"No Harvey." She interrupted. "You can't hide behind a double standard on this. There is no but. You said it yourself…you would be furious. So I'm going to ask you again and I want a straight answer this time. What happened?"

She watched as he sighed deeply and took a moment.

"I found out that Marcus owed a lot of money from his gambling. I went to pay the bookie off so that it would be one less problem for him. They weren't happy that it took him this long to pay it off so they roughed me up a little. That's all." He finally said. "Are you mad because I used our money to help him out?"

"I couldn't care less about what you use our money for. You could spend every penny we have on some stupid magic beans that don't do anything and I would be ok with it because we can always make more money." She laughed. "But I call have to call bullshit. There's something else bothering you. If it isn't about the bookie thing, then it is something else. Because you have been acting weird since last night and I want to know why. I deserve to know why and you know I'm right."

"It's nothing." He shrugged. "Just a little brotherly fight."

"What happened between you two?"

"Marcus and I got into it verbally." Harvey explained. "That's all. Brothers have fights sometimes. It doesn't mean anything."

"What was it about?"

"I don't want to talk about this." He said in a commanding tone.

She knew from that tone she wouldn't get any more information from him right now. So she decided to drop it. "Ok." She held her hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry." He apologized immediately.

"It's ok." She assured him. "You obviously aren't ready to talk about it yet."

"Because there is nothing to talk about." He assured her. "Really."

She didn't believe him, but she decided to let it go for now before they ended up fighting about it. "Ok."

"Now are you going to come over here so I can show you how much I missed you this week?" He smirked. "Or do I have to come over there?"

She chuckled and wordlessly climbed across the bed to his arms.


	35. Chapter 35

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Five

The next morning, Harvey turned over in bed to find Rebecca still beside him. He took a moment to stare at her. He really was lucky to have her in his life.

It wasn't right that he didn't tell her everything about Marcus' gambling debt. Leaving out the parts that were the most disturbing wasn't fair to her. And not telling her about the fight he had with Marcus the next day wasn't right either.

She had a right to know, and he knew it wasn't a good idea to keep secrets from her. But he didn't want to worry her and to be honest he wasn't ready to talk about the fight with Marcus.

It was wrong to tell him about the baby Katie was carrying when she died. He realized that and felt bad about rubbing it in his face. But he was so angry and got blinded by his rage. It just slipped out while he was trying to show Marcus tough love. But he went too far and he knew it.

While he had recognized he had changed a lot in the past few years, he found it alarmingly easy to slip into his old patterns of lashing out and shutting down. His words to Marcus clearly hurt him and he knew he needed to apologize. He would give Marcus a little bit of time to cool down before going back over there.

Maybe someday he tell her the truth about Marcus' gambling and Katie's death. But not right now. They had too much to deal with and it wasn't the right time. Right now he would keep it to himself.

He saw her start to stir and smiled as she opened her eyes. "Morning."

"Morning." She smiled back at him, scooting over as close as she could to him. "Were you seriously just staring at me?"

"Maybe." He smirked.

She chuckled and reached up to kiss him. "How long were you staring?"

"Not too long." He admitted. "I just missed you."

"I missed you too." She told him.

"Can you come up here every weekend?" He asked. "I realize it's a lot to ask, but…"

She silenced him with a kiss. "I promise to try and come up as much as I can. I was already going to try and do that because I don't like to be away from you."

"Good. Neither do I." He smiled. "Can you also just stay here with me all morning?"

"As much as I would love to stay in bed with you all morning, we should get up and make sure that the kids have gotten breakfast."

"I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind getting their breakfast if we wanted to stay in bed a little while longer."

She reached up and gave him a long, slow kiss and he thought he had convinced her to stay with him. But then suddenly she pulled away and got out of bed.

"Not fair." He laughed.

"Sorry." She laughed, getting a pair of jeans and slipping them on.

* * *

Later that day, they decided to take the kids to a nearby park. Ethan stayed underneath a large tree with a book, saying it was what he wanted to do so they let him. Olivia wanted to climb and swing, but with her broken arm those activities weren't possible. So they brought along a bubble machine. But she wanted to play tag first.

So she was playing tag with Olivia and Harvey.

Right now Harvey was the one who was it and they were both running away from him. "Olivia! You go that way!" She yelled, pointing to the left. "I'll go this way!" She pointed to the right.

"Ok!" Olivia grinned, running to the left towards the tree Ethan was sitting under.

She didn't know who Harvey would go after first, and was mildly surprised when he came after her first. He must have run faster to close the gap between them because the next thing she knew he had a grip around her waist and pulled her off the ground, spinning her around.

"Gotcha!" He laughed, kissing her neck.

"Yeah. You caught me." She laughed once he put her back down on the ground. "Now you have to go get Olivia."

"She is too fast for me." He complained. "Care to help me out? Maybe distract her for me?"

"You really want me to help you cheat at tag?" She scoffed.

"Yes please." He grinned.

"Are you sure that's the example you want to set for your niece?" She laughed.

"I'll make it worth your while tonight."

She thought about it and then smiled. "Ok. Just this once though."

"You're the best."

She went over to Olivia.

"Did Uncle Harvey get you?" Olivia asked.

"Yes." She looked back at Harvey, who was still a little ways back from where they were standing. "So Uncle Harvey thinks you run too fast for him. He sent me over here to slow you down while he sneaks up on you."

"But that's cheating!"

"I know. That's what I said too." She nodded. "Do you want to help me play a trick on him to teach him not to cheat?"

"Yes!" Olivia nodded enthusiastically.

"Ok. So we are going to continue to pretend to talk and then when I scratch my nose, that means run away as fast as you can. Got it?"

"Of course!" Olivia laughed.

"Ok. He is getting closer." She warned. A few moments later she scratched her nose, causing Olivia to run away seconds before Harvey could get her.

"What was that?" He chuckled.

"What was what?" She asked, watching as Olivia stopped running and stood in place.

"You tipped her off with the nose thing, didn't you?"

"Maybe." She grinned. "Us girls have to stick together!"

He sighed. "Fine. Well I don't think I can play any more tag right now."

"Fine." She chuckled. "Olivia! You win!"

"Yay!" Olivia cheered as she ran back to them.

"Uncle Harvey gave up because he can't handle any more running." She teased. "I guess his physical stamina isn't as good as he thought it was."

Her comment earned a playful glare from him and she knew she would pay for that comment later.

"I would just like a small break." He clarified.

"Why don't you stay here with Ethan and we will go play with bubbles?" She suggested.

"I wanna play with bubbles!" Olivia chimed in.

"Sounds good to me." Harvey replied.

* * *

He watched as Rebecca and Olivia got the bubble machine started. A flurry of different sizes bubbles flew all around them and he couldn't help but laugh. Seeing her running around with his niece made him feel a kind of happiness he didn't know he was missing before.

He turned his attention to Ethan, sitting down next to him. "What are you reading?"

"A book."

"Well I know that." He chuckled. "What is the book called?"

"A Catcher in the Rye." Ethan replied without looking up.

"Aren't you a little young for that book?" He couldn't help but question it.

"Mom said it was ok." He shrugged. "It was one of the books in the box she and dad gave me for my birthday."

"Ok." He shrugged. He remembered Katie telling him about that present. She gathered up all of her old books and some new ones as a huge present to Ethan. "So you really enjoy reading, don't you? Because it seems like you are constantly reading.

"I do like to read."

"You must have gotten that from your mom's side of the family because your dad and I never read books like that." He chuckled.

"What did you guys read?"

"Comic books." Harvey replied. "We had a ton of comic books."

"Do you still have them? I'd like to see them."

"I don't have them. But if anyone knows where they are, it would be your grandma. We can ask her when we get back."

"Cool." Ethan smiled.

* * *

"So what is going on that we needed to talk out here?" Lily laughed.

Harvey looked back at Rebecca and then back at Lily. "We have something to talk about and we didn't want the kids to somehow overhear it." They were sitting at the table on the deck in the backyard after the kids were asleep.

"Ok." Lily nodded. "It sounds serious. Is it about Marcus?"

"No." Harvey shook his head. "It's about you."

"Me?" Lily laughed again.

"You and your health." Rebecca clarified.

"Oh." The smile left her face. "Why would you want to talk about something as depressing as that?"

"Because Rebecca has done some research and we want to talk to you about what she found." He explained.

Rebecca pulled out a folder and slid it across the table for Lily to look through. "After you told me about your diagnosis, I didn't want to stand around and do nothing to help. That's why I volunteered to stay here and help you with the kids. But then Marcus insisted Harvey stay, and I'm actually glad he did because I think it's been working out well."

"I agree with that." Lily nodded with a smile. "We may not have been able to get things straightened out if he didn't stay here."

"So I started to think about what I could do to help and I researched drug trials for your specific kind of cancer." She continued. "In that folder is the most promising drug trial going on right now. It is a combination drug that mixes one kind that is considered the standard drug with two new drugs. It's supposed to specifically target the cancer cells and destroy them. There is more information about it in the packet but that's essentially how it works."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "It's administered through an IV twice a week for the next six months. And the trial is based in New York City."

Lily sighed. "I know you mean well Rebecca, but you have to understand why I need to say no to this. It's the worst possible time for this. The kids need…"

"Mom, just hear us out." Harvey interrupted. "Marcus may have said some things about me that I don't necessarily believe or like, but he was right when he said I have been selfish for the past twenty years when it comes to you and him. I have. I went off to New York City, I created a whole new life and rarely looked back at what I left here. I know you are worried about the kids, but I can handle it."

"Harvey…"

"I'm serious!" He had been thinking about it all day and came to the conclusion that he needed to do this for his family. He wanted to do this. Even though it would be rough to take care of the kids by himself, it was something that needed to be done. "Let me do this for you and for Marcus."

"We want you to have a fighting chance at being around longer." Rebecca spoke up.

"I want to be around longer too." Lily sighed. "And if the trial was somewhere closer so I could stay here and help then I would say yes without a moment's hesitation. But the fact remains that running off to New York City for a trial that may not do anything while leaving my family when they need me the most is selfish."

"It's not selfish to try and live longer, which is what you would be doing." Harvey pointed out.

"We would have to tell the kids why I'm leaving." Lily pointed out. "Do you really want to have to tell them about my cancer? Because I don't."

"I'm not looking forward to that either but I think it is necessary if it means giving you a better chance to fight this." Rebecca chimed in.

"What if I do this and then it doesn't work I've wasted six months?" Lily asked.

"I won't lie. That is a possibility." Harvey told her. "But I think the positives outweigh the negatives on this."

"And what about when Marcus gets out of rehab?" She pointed out. "If I'm not here to help him, what's going to happen?"

"We are trying to figure out a plan for that too." Rebecca told her. "No matter what, we are going to make sure that Marcus and the kids have as much help as they need. We may not know how it will all work yet, but we're committed to making it happen."

"So you both think this is a good idea?" Lily sighed.

"We do." Harvey said, grabbing a hold of Rebecca's hand that was resting on the table.

"And you really think you will be able to handle the kids by yourself?" Lily pressed.

"Hey…If I need to know anything I don't already know, there is always Google." He joked.

Lily was quiet for a moment. "Ok. I'm in."

"Really?" Rebecca grinned.

"Really." Lily repeated.

"This is wonderful!" Rebecca got up from the table and gave his mom a hug.

"I'm glad too." Harvey spoke up.

"I guess we will tell the kids in the morning." Lily stated.


	36. Chapter 36

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Six

Three days later, Rebecca walked into Louis' office with her head buried in a folder. "Hey Louis, do you happen to have the other file for…" She looked up and immediately stopped when she saw who was sitting at the desk. "Shelia! I'm sorry. I was looking for Louis. But I didn't mean to intrude."

"Oh, it's ok." Shelia smiled. "He had to take care of something and will be right back if you want to wait for him."

"How are you doing?" While she had talked to her a few times recently, she hadn't seen the woman since she got engaged to Louis.

"I'm good."

"How are the wedding plans going?" She remembered the flurry of activity surrounding wedding planning, even though Donna did most of the work. There were still tons of decisions to make.

"It seems like it will never end." Shelia laughed. "Between his family being Jewish and my family being Catholic, it is a nightmare trying to make sure that no one is offended too much."

"Well just remember that your wedding is for you and Louis—no one else." She advised. "And try not to stress too much about it. The important thing is that at the end of the day you and Louis are married."

"That's good advice." Shelia smiled.

"Have you set a date yet?"

"We haven't." Shelia explained. "But I think we want to do it within the next three months. That's actually why I am here. We need to set the date before I meet with the wedding planner later today. To be honest, I'm kind of glad I get the chance to talk to you. I was so glad that those two guys ended up not being a threat to you."

"Thanks. Me too." She nodded. "Though I guess to be honest maybe I was a little too paranoid about it. I really appreciated Louis' help. You've got one of the good ones."

"Well Harvey wanted you to be protected and you are a good friend to him. He'll do anything for his friends." She explained. "He just felt bad that he couldn't get any real answers from Charles about who those guys really were."

"Wait a minute." She couldn't have heard her right. "He told Harvey and Charles what was going on?"

"Yes." Shelia nodded. "Was he not supposed to?"

"No. I didn't want him to." She shook her head. It was understandable that Louis would tell Shelia and she had no problem with that. The last thing she wanted was for him to lie or keep it from his fiancée. But for him to go behind her back and tell two people she specifically didn't want to know, well it made her mad.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I feel like I just got him in trouble."

"It's ok." She put on a fake smile.

"He was just worried about you and didn't know what else to do." Shelia explained.

"Like I said, it's ok." She shrugged. "I'll come back later for that file. It was nice to see you again Shelia."

She walked back to her office and sat down. The whole reason she went to Louis was so that he wouldn't tell Harvey. She wondered why Harvey didn't tell her he knew about the guys. She didn't want to wait until they Facetimed tonight so she pulled out her phone and typed a message.

 _Is there a reason why you didn't mention that Louis told you about the guys I thought were following me last week?_

It only took a few moments for the three dots to appear, telling her he had read it and was typing a response.

 _Probably the same reason you didn't tell me when you thought they were following you. Did he tell you I knew?_

 _No, Shelia did._

About five seconds after she sent that text, her phone rang and his face popped up on her screen. It was one of her favorite pictures of him—a candid one that she snapped one lazy Saturday when he was laughing about something. She couldn't remember what. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't stare at the picture all day so she answered the call.

"I didn't want to get Louis in trouble with you because I knew you would be upset." He explained without greeting her first. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I didn't want to worry you." She explained. "And I didn't want to get Charles involved because…"

"I know." He interrupted. "You still think that he will be an issue regarding Mike."

"He is an ex-FBI agent who still investigates people." She pointed out. "It makes me worry."

"I know, but I don't think we have anything to worry about with him." He pointed out. "He seems to be head over heels for Donna. I don't think he would do anything to hurt her."

"I hope not."

"Are you mad that Louis told me?"

"I'm not mad." She assured him. "Are you mad that I didn't tell you about it?"

"I'm not mad. Though I would have liked it if you felt you could tell me." He admitted.

"It wasn't that though." She assured him. "I knew that you were busy trying to get used to everything and taking care of Marcus' case. I also knew you were already worried about me and I didn't want to make you worry more, especially since it turned out to be nothing. But I still should have told you and I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I should have told you I knew about it this weekend. I just didn't want to waste what little time alone we had together this weekend talking about it." He admitted.

"I guess that makes sense." She sighed.

"Are you mad at Louis? He just wanted to help. You know how he gets sometimes. He wants to help and then ends up overstepping."

"I know." She sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be too mad at him. I mean nothing came of him going to Charles so maybe I was being too paranoid about that too."

"So we are good?" He asked.

"We're better than good." She smiled. "We are amazing."

"I like the sound of that." He told her.

They made a deal that every day they were apart they would talk at least twice a day. One would be in the morning and the one in the evening would be a Facetime. So far they had stuck to their deal, although they usually ended up texting and calling each other during the day too. It wasn't the same as having him right next door to her at work, but it was the best she could get right now.

"Try not to be too hard on Louis." He suggested. "He was just trying to help."

"I know." She sighed. "I'll be nice."

"I need to go pick up the kids from school." He told her. "I'll call you later tonight?"

"You better." She laughed. "Love you."

"Love you too."

She ended the call and put the phone down.

* * *

That night, Harvey sat around the dinner table with the kids and his mom. "So are you all packed to go tomorrow?" He asked his mom.

Her first treatment was going to start on Friday so they decided she would stay in Boston until Thursday and then head down to stay with Rebecca. That way it gave her a little more time with the kids to get them prepared for the idea.

"I think so." Lily nodded.

"Do you have to go?" Olivia asked.

"Yes honey, I have to." Lily answered, smiling at the girl.

"It's not fair." Ethan sighed, pushing his food around on the plate.

"I know." Lily told him. "But we are going to Skype every day and Uncle Harvey will be here with you."

"Uncle Harvey, can we have pizza every night?" Olivia asked, putting on the adorable smile she uses when she wants to get her way.

"No, we can't." Harvey chuckled. "Sorry."

"Rats." Olivia sighed, the smile draining from her face.

* * *

She was getting ready to leave for the day when she saw Louis appear in her doorway.

"Hey." He came inside and placed a folder on her desk. "Shelia mentioned you came in earlier looking for a file. I figured it was probably for the York merger."

"It was." She nodded. "Thanks."

"She also mentioned that you know I told Harvey and Charles about what happened last week."

"Yeah." She nodded again.

"Are you mad?"

"I was at first." She admitted. "But then I realized that you were just trying to look out for me so I'm not mad anymore."

He looked relieved and smiled at her.

"Next time though, if I say I don't want to do something, please don't go behind my back."

"I promise." He held up his hand to swear.

"Thank you." She smiled.

* * *

Harvey brought out a beer for him and a tea for his mom, placing the tea in her hands before sitting next to her on the top step of the deck in the backyard. Since it was a nice night they decided to sit outside and talk.

"So…I honestly never thought I would say this, but it's going to be weird not having you here." He started the conversation.

"It will be weird not being here." Lily admitted. "I haven't been away from those kids for more than a week at a time. I have to admit that I am worried about the toll this will take on them, especially Ethan."

"I'll take care of them and I'll keep an extra close eye on him." Harvey assured her.

"I know you will." She nodded, looking over at him and smiling. "I know you told me you are worried about being a good parent, and I don't want to freak you out or anything…but you are already acting like a good parent with them."

"It does kind of freak me out a little." He admitted. "But not necessarily in a bad way. I've already learned a lot."

"Are you sure that you will be ok with them by yourself though?" She asked. "It's not too late. I can still cancel this trip and stay."

He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. "You don't have to cancel your trip. I'll be fine. The kids will be fine. You can go take care of yourself without feeling guilty or worrying."

"You say everyone here will be fine. What if I'm not fine?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Harvey, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about this clinical trial. The whole thing makes me worried."

"What exactly are you worried about?"

"I'm worried about you and the kids being alright without me here. I'm worried about Marcus and all of his troubles. I'm worried that Rebecca is getting her hopes up too much about this treatment working. I'm worried about what the treatment is actually going to do to my body. I'm worried about getting my own hopes up. Should I go on with my list?" She chuckled.

"Well first of all, I know this has to be scary." He told her, giving her hand a light squeeze. "But the kids and I will be fine. And Rebecca knows the odds of this treatment not working. We all do. We know that this treatment may or may not work. But we also know this is your best shot. She is just trying to remain positive about the outcome because that is how she is trying to cope with things."

"As for Marcus…I can't tell you not to worry about him because I'm worried about him too. But here is my point. I would imagine it is completely normal to be worried in a situation like this since there are so many unknown variables. But everything is going to be fine."

"I'm proud of you Harvey." She smiled.

"That was random." He chuckled. "What brought that on?"

"You've turned out to be good man…just like your father." She told him softly. "I know he is looking down on you and is happy. If he were here he would definitely tell you how proud he is of you."

"I hope so." He smiled.

"I know so."

"I'm going to miss you mom." He told her, chuckling softly. "That's another thing I never thought I'd say."

"You don't know how much it means to me that we have started to get past everything. It's all I've wanted for so long and to finally have it now, amidst all of the chaos going on…"

"I know what you mean." He said, leaning in and giving her a hug.


	37. Chapter 37

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Harvey sat in the pick-up line at Olivia's school. He had already picked Ethan up. His nephew was reading quietly in the backseat. That was the normal routine. He would pick Ethan up from school and try to ask about how his day went, only to be given one or two word answers before the boy pulled out a book and basically shunned him for the rest of the afternoon. At least he didn't have to constantly get on him about doing his homework. That was usually done before dinner.

At dinner, Ethan would talk a little bit more, but not a lot. At first he was worried about how distant Ethan seemed, until he talked to Rebecca about it. It turned out that Ethan was calling Rebecca every afternoon after school to talk. So it made sense that after he talked to Rebecca, he would be talking more at dinner. Rebecca was probably encouraging him to open up more.

There was a small part of him that was slightly jealous that Ethan was opening up more to Rebecca than to him. But he shoved that thought aside because in the end it didn't matter which one of them Ethan talked to, as long as his nephew talked to someone about everything that has been going on. It had been about a month since his mom went to stay with Rebecca for the drug trial and everyone was finally used to the new routine.

The treatments in the city had been going fairly well, though he knew they were taking a lot of energy away from her. In the beginning she had a lot of nausea, which was the reason she hadn't been coming up with Rebecca every weekend. But this weekend both Rebecca and his mom were coming up and he was happy about it.

Although he had been talking to his mom at least once a day, he was glad that he would get a chance to see for himself how she was doing. It wasn't that he didn't trust Rebecca to tell him the truth about the situation. He just wanted to see it first-hand.

It seemed like things were stabilizing and he was glad. It was too soon to see if the treatment was working. There was only some minor improvement in her test results so far, but they were still all hopeful. The kids took the news better than he thought they would. Olivia was too young to know the whole story so they just told her that grandma needed some medicine that she could only get in New York City. Ethan was told the whole story and had some issues with it, but eventually came around to the idea. He hated that the kids' lives had been turned upside down so many times lately.

All in all though, they were able to get into a pretty simple routine and he had to admit that it was kind of nice taking care of the kids. He missed Rebecca terribly, he missed work, he missed everyone at Pearson Specter Litt Monroe…hell he even missed Louis. But he would never admit that to the man because he would never hear the end of it.

But they only had a couple more weeks before Marcus got out of rehab.

That thought both made him happy and anxious. Ever since he lashed out at his brother, he hadn't been allowed to go visit him again. Marcus had taken him off the list of approved visitors. He understood why and didn't blame him. Everything he said to his younger brother that day was harsh and cruel. At the time he was just so angry and frustrated that he wasn't able to stop himself. But it wasn't right and he wanted desperately to apologize.

He also wanted to talk about case strategy. There was a chance that he could get the DUI charge thrown out because of a procedural error with his blood sample. It was a technicality, but at this point if they couldn't get the blood evidence thrown out, there was a 95% chance Marcus would be going to prison.

So he had to try. But he also wanted to tell Marcus about it.

He still hadn't told anyone about the details surrounding his fight with Marcus, or that he hadn't been back to the rehab place since. Rebecca and his mom still thought that he was regularly going to see Marcus. He knew it was wrong not to correct them, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

* * *

Rebecca sat in the exam room, nervously bouncing her leg up and down as she waited for the doctor come back in. Thankfully it didn't take too long.

"Well, we got the results of the blood test back." Dr. Grey smiled at her as she looked up from the chart.

"And?"

"Congratulations. The test you took yesterday was right. You are pregnant."

"Really?" She didn't know what to think about this. While she was thrilled to be pregnant with Harvey's child, this wasn't a good time and she was worried about his reaction.

"Yeah. It looks like you are about six weeks along."

She thought back to six weeks ago and realized when this baby was most likely conceived. It was the night they went to Boston because Marcus and Olivia were in the car accident. They had sex in the dugout of the baseball field.

"Did you hear me?" Dr. Grey asked.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I said that given your history, I'd like to do an ultrasound to try and determine if this pregnancy might be ectopic as well. Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah." She nodded. That would be a good idea. Her worst fear was another ectopic pregnancy so if there was a way to know now, it would be better for everyone.

"I'm going to get my technician. She will get everything set up and then I'll be back in." Dr. Grey told her before leaving the room.

* * *

Harvey got out of the car and opened the door for Olivia, helping her get buckled into her seat. "How was your day?" He asked when he got back into the driver's seat.

"It was sweet!" Olivia squealed. "Madeline had Oreos in her lunch today and she let me trade some of my Goldfish for one. And then at recess we all played princesses that were locked in a tower. Only the tower was just the top of the slide. The boys had to fight each other in order to rescue us. It was so much fun. In art class we got to paint and it was so sweet. I'm so glad my arm is healed and I don't have the cast. It was not fun at all. Ooh and I got an A- on my spelling test. I only got one word wrong. I thought that was pretty good, though Zoe was bragging the whole afternoon about how she got an A+. She is a show off and I don't really like her that much. I hope that's ok that I don't like her. I just…"

As Olivia continued to talk, he drove them home. He knew Olivia would continue to talk about her day the entire ride and was grateful in many ways that she was so enthusiastic about her life.

* * *

"Ok. Everything is looking alright and normal." Dr. Grey said as they both looked at the monitor. "There is the gestational sac, and it is right where it should be."

"It's not an ectopic pregnancy?" She was almost afraid to hope.

"No, it isn't." Dr. Grey smiled.

She absorbed that news and let herself release the breath she had been holding during the entire set up of the ultrasound. The fact that it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy meant she would be able to relax a bit more.

"Did you hear what I said?" Dr. Grey asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"No." She shook her head. "Sorry."

"I was just saying that you should make an appointment with the front desk to come back in about another four to six weeks for a check-up. You'll want to start taking some prenatal vitamins. And here are some pamphlets about the foods you should stay away from. Do you have any questions?"

"No." She shook her head. The questions she had weren't ones that her doctor could answer.

"Congratulations." Dr. Grey smiled before leaving the room.

She sat there for a moment, thinking things through. This was going to change everything. It was like her body was on autopilot because she didn't even remember getting dressed after the ultrasound or walking out of the doctor's office. She just suddenly found herself in the back of the car with Ray at the wheel.

"I don't want to overstep or anything, but is everything ok?" Ray asked, looking at her through the rear view mirror.

She stopped looking out the window and then at Ray. She was so glad that his wife was better now and he was back to being their full time driver. Finally managing a small smile, she nodded. "I'm fine, Ray."

"You sure?" He checked again.

"Yes." She nodded. "I just have a lot on my mind. Thank you for checking though."

"You're welcome." He nodded, taking one more look at her before going back to driving.

She felt bad for lying to Ray. She wasn't fine. She was freaking out. But as much as she liked Ray, he wasn't the first one she wanted to tell this news to today.

She thought back to yesterday when she first realized she could be pregnant.

 _She leaned up against the counter of the bathroom, waiting for the two minutes to be up. On the way home from work she stopped at the corner drug store. The thought of her being pregnant had entered her mind this morning while she was looking at her calendar and realizing she was very late._

 _It wasn't abnormal for her be a few days late or even a week. But after looking at the calendar she realized that it was weird for her to be this late. She also felt slightly nauseous, but she had been attributing that to the food from the new Thai place she and Lily had tried two days ago._

 _After Lily went to bed, she went into the bathroom and pulled the pregnancy test box out of her purse. Her phone went off, alerting her that the two minutes had passed. She took a deep breath and turned to pick up the test._

 _Pregnant._

 _It was all there in front of her. While she was excited, she couldn't help worry. Would this also be an ectopic pregnancy? Would Harvey be happy? Was this really the right time? How was this going to work?_

 _One thing was certain. That one word was going to completely change her life._

The thought of having a baby with Harvey was enough to put a huge smile on her face and the fact that she knew it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy made her feel relieved. She wanted to shout it from rooftops and rush up to Boston to tell him right now. It was everything she had been wanting for so long.

The problem was the timing.

With everything going on, was this really the best time? Marcus being in rehab, his mom's illness, trying to make sure Marcus' kids are taken care of, the criminal charges Marcus is facing…it was a lot to handle. And Marcus would be getting out of rehab in a couple of weeks. So they needed to figure out a new plan to make sure that the kids were taken care of since Lily was here getting treatment.

She worried how Harvey was going to take the news. He asked for six months before they even thought about it again. It hasn't even been half of that.

She pulled out her phone and went to recent calls. Her finger hovered above his name. The only thing she wanted to do right now was tell him what was going on. But she stopped because this wasn't a conversation they could have over the phone or even on Facetime. This was an in-person conversation that would have to wait until she went up there this weekend.


	38. Chapter 38

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Uncle Harvey, what's for dinner?" Olivia asked as she entered the kitchen.

"We are having spaghetti tonight." He told her.

"With garlic bread?" Her eyes lit up like Christmas trees.

"Absolutely!" He chuckled.

"Sweet!" She cheered before leaving the kitchen.

Sweet was something she apparently picked up from one of her friends at school and she had been saying it non-stop for the past two days. It was cute the first few times, but now it was getting a little old. He looked at the clock on the stove and saw that Rebecca and his mom should be arriving soon. While Rebecca had been coming up every weekend, this would be the first time that his mom came with her. The kids were very excited.

When he heard the excited squeals of Olivia coming from the living room, he knew that his mom and Rebecca were there. He went back to stirring the sauce for a moment because he knew she would come find him.

It didn't take long for arms to wrap around his waist. He let himself lean into her embrace, taking in her perfume and closing his eyes for a moment. "You have no idea how glad I am you are here."

"Oh I think I do have an idea about that." She chuckled, whispering into his ear. Then she kissed his cheek.

He turned around put his hands on the sides of her face, planting his lips on hers. "I missed you."

"I missed you more." She smirked.

"That's impossible." He chuckled, taking a good look at her. For the past couple of days he could have sworn there was something off about her behavior. He couldn't put his finger on it but he knew there was either something wrong or something she wasn't telling him. He was concerned and knew there was no way she was leaving this weekend without telling him what was going on. She looked tired, but that couldn't be what was bothering her.

"Spaghetti for dinner?" She asked, looking over at the stove.

"Yes, with my apparently famous garlic bread." He boasted. "Olivia loves my garlic bread almost as much as you do."

"It is pretty good." She conceded.

"Pretty good?" He chuckled. "You always end up having at least three or four pieces every time I make it."

"Because it's pretty good." She smirked. "If it was amazing I'd have five or six."

"Oh I see how it is." He joked.

"So your mom is out there with the kids." She stated. "I thought I would stay in here for a moment and see if you needed any help so she can have a few minutes alone with them. You should have seen their faces light up when they saw her."

"They have really missed her." He nodded.

"They miss their father too."

"I know."

"Has he said why he won't take any of my phone calls?" She asked. "I call him every other day and they keep saying he refuses to talk to me. What is going on with him?"

"I don't know. He hasn't said anything to me about it." He answered truthfully. Since he wasn't able to visit with Marcus, he didn't know. He could guess that Marcus was still hurting and angry about their last conversation. That could be why he was pulling away from everyone. But he couldn't tell her that without having to explain everything. And that was something he didn't want to do.

"Your mom calls him every day and he only answers maybe once a week or so. Even then he only asks about her and the kids and then finds some excuse to leave before she can ask anything about how he is doing. Does he say anything about it when you visit him?" She asked.

She figured he was visiting Marcus every week, and rather than correct her he let her continue to think that instead of telling her the truth. Now it was coming back to bite him in the ass. "No." He lied. "He doesn't say anything about it."

"I just want to check in with him and see how he is doing." She continued. "Is he mad at me for something? It doesn't make sense for him to ignore me like this."

"I'm sure he isn't meaning to ignore you. But I'm sure he is just busy working on his treatment plan."

"Maybe I should go visit him this weekend." She suggested.

"No." He shook his head. If Marcus actually let her see him, then he would undoubtedly tell her everything that happened. He didn't want that. "Marcus will be out of rehab soon. Then you can try to figure out what is going on. But I'm sure it is nothing against you."

"Ok." She shrugged. "It just worries me."

"I know." He nodded. "I don't think there is anything to be worried about."

She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "Thank you."

"So if you are going to keep me company while I finish dinner, why don't you tell me some of the gossip going around the office?" He reluctantly disentangled himself from her and went back to stirring his sauce.

"Well…Jessica is getting very serious with Jeff."

"What do we know about him?" He asked.

"He seems like a nice enough guy." She shrugged. "I've only met him twice in passing though."

"We should try to spend some time with him and make sure that he is good enough for Jessica." He suggested.

She chuckled. "When do you suppose we do that?"

"I don't honestly know." He laughed. "But we should try once things calm down. What else is going on?"

"Donna and Charles are doing well. They seem to be really happy. He has been coming by at least once a week to take her to lunch and they are cute together."

"I'm glad Donna is happy."

"Me too." She nodded. "I kind of like him now."

"You aren't worried about his profession anymore?" He questioned.

"Well I would prefer that he wasn't ex-FBI, but the more time I've spent talking to him the more I realize he is a good guy. After all, he has even let me tag along to their lunches a couple of times. And you were right. He is head over heels for Donna. I don't think he would do anything that would hurt her."

"I'm glad I was right." He grinned.

"Rachel and Mike are thinking about taking a major pro bono case against the New York Housing Authority. They are pretty passionate about it."

"Are they sure they want to take on the Housing Authority?" Harvey asked.

"Yes." She nodded, adding a chuckle. "Mike is chomping at the bit about it. Rachel is more reserved about it but this case deserves to be fought."

"Anything else going on?"

"Ooh. I saved the best gossip for last. The wedding invitations for Louis and Shelia's wedding went out this week and everyone in the office acted like it was the end of the world if they didn't get invited." She laughed. "It was surreal. Even those who don't like Louis were walking around on eggshells waiting to see if they were invited."

"I assume we got invited." He laughed.

"We did." She smiled. "And I already RSVP'd yes since you are the best man."

"That means I have to plan a bachelor party, doesn't it?" He groaned.

"Yes." She nodded. "It does."

"When is the wedding?"

"About five weeks from now."

"I can tell you right now there will be no mudding at his bachelor party." He scoffed.

"Louis will be disappointed by that." She laughed. "He has always wanted to get you into mudding so you can be mudding buddies."

"You are the only one I would ever even consider rolling around in mud for." He promised her.

"I feel honored." She smirked.

"You should." He smirked back. They light banter made him incredibly happy. Only seeing her in person on the weekends the past few weeks was rough. And while they still talked all the time during the day, it wasn't the same. He felt like having this much distance between them wasn't good for their marriage. No matter how much they both tried, it still felt like they were living separate lives. He was hopeful he could get Marcus' charges dismissed so that he didn't have to stay in Boston and could come home to her.

"What does a person have to do to get some dinner around here?" Lily asked with a laugh as she entered the kitchen. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all." Rebecca said, taking the wooden spoon from his hand.

He realized she did that so he could go hug his mom so he smiled at her before crossing the room. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing better." Lily explained as they hugged. "It's good to see you Harvey."

"Good to see you too, mom."

* * *

"Since Olivia dragged my mom into her room to read to her tonight, I just went in and checked on Ethan. He is already out like a light. It must have been a rough week for him." Harvey chuckled as he came into the kitchen. He walked over to where she was washing dishes and wrapped one arm around her waist, using his other hand to push her hair off of her neck so he could start kissing it.

"Harvey…" She chuckled. "That is incredibly distracting."

"That's the point." He whispered in her ear.

She put the washcloth down and turned to face him. "You have me trapped."

He did indeed have her trapped between the sink and his body. "Are you complaining?"

"I'd never complain about this." She smiled. "Just making an observation."

"Are you almost done with the dishes so we can go upstairs?" He asked, winking at her.

"Almost." She nodded. "But things would go a lot faster if you helped me dry."

"Of course." He leaned in and kissed her before letting go and picking up the dry dish towel to start helping her.

They worked together on the dishes in silence for a few moments. While drying, he caught her looking over at him a couple of times.

"So what is bothering you?" He finally asked straight out. He was tired of dodging the question and trying to figure it out for himself.

"Who says anything is bothering me?" She asked, keeping her focus on the dishes and not looking at him anymore.

"Rebecca, I know you." He pointed out. "You have been acting incredibly weird for the past few days and you have been quieter than normal. There has to be a reason for it. Is it work?"

"No." She shook her head. "Everything at work is fine."

"Something to do with our friends?"

"No. I told you all the big stuff. Everyone is doing alright."

"Did I do something?" He finally asked.

She finally looked over at him and shook her head. "You didn't do anything."

"Then what is it?" He asked. "I'm running out of things to guess."

"Because you're guessing the wrong kind of things. But you are right. There is something on my mind that we need to discuss." She put the washcloth down again. "It is something important that I figured we should talk about in person instead of over technology."

"Ok see now you are starting to worry me." He put the dish towel down. "Are you ok? Is it something bad?"

"I don't think it's anything bad and I'm ok." She reassured him. "It's just something happened and we need to talk about it. Harvey, I'm…"

Before Rebecca could finish that sentence, he saw his mom come into the kitchen.

"I just got a phone call from the rehab center." Lily said in a frantic tone. "Marcus is dead."

"What?" Harvey scoffed. "That can't be right."

"They didn't give me any other details. They just said that there was an incident and that it resulted in Marcus' death. They asked for someone to come down there." Lily explained.

Harvey looked at his mom and then at Rebecca. His mom was crying so hard she had to sit down at the counter. Rebecca looked like she was in shock and wasn't moving as she stared off into space.

"I can't believe this." Lily cried.

"I'll go down to the rehab place." Harvey volunteered.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked. "I'd go but I just don't think…I can't…"

"Yeah. I'll go." He nodded, going over and giving his mom a hug. He then looked at Rebecca, who seemingly hadn't moved at all. He gently pulled her with him towards the door.

"Are you ok?" He asked when they got to the front door.

She didn't say anything, instead just wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head in the crook of his shoulder. He held on to her tightly, never wanting to leave her arms. But he had to go so after a moment he pulled away a little.

"I'm so sorry." She told him, her eyes filling with tears. "Do you want me to go with you or stay with your mom?"

"Stay with her." He said. "I'll be fine."

"I don't buy that for a second." She called him out.

"I know. But my mom needs you more than I do at the moment." He kissed her forehead. "I'll be back soon."

Before he could leave, she pulled him back for another hug. He closed his eyes and held on to her tightly for a moment before extracting himself.


	39. Chapter 39

Skyfall

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Rebecca stared at the door after Harvey left. This was a nightmare she wished she could wake up from. First Katie, and now Marcus. All she wanted to do was go crawl up in a ball somewhere and cry, but she knew that wasn't an option right now. Lily needed her. When Harvey came back, he would need her. And then when they told the kids, they would need her.

The kids.

They were going to be devastated by this. She pushed that thought out of her mind and slowly went back to the kitchen. Lily was crying at the kitchen table so she went over and started to make tea for them. Something told her it was going to be a long night.

A few minutes later she placed a cup in front of Lily. Then she sat down next to her. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say in this situation."

"Neither do I." Lily shook her head.

She watched as Lily took the cup and drank some of the tea.

"I never thought that this would happen. I thought if I lost him it would be to jail."

"As bad as it sounds, I thought the same thing." She chimed in.

"I never imagined that he would die so young." Lily said. "I'm not sure how much more loss this family can take."

* * *

Harvey stood outside the rehab center, willing himself to go inside. He saw the coroner's van and the two police cars outside so he knew this wasn't a practical joke. It was really happening. On the way over he wondered if it could have been a prank or maybe even a misunderstanding. But in his heart he knew what this was.

His punishment.

He buzzed the front door. Since it was after normal visiting hours he had to get the door unlocked for him.

"Who is it?"

"Harvey Specter. Marcus Specter is my…"

"You can come on in." The voice interrupted him.

He heard the door unlock and came inside. A few seconds later, a short, balding man came up to him.

"Mr. Specter. My name is Joseph Wayne. I am the administrator of this center. First of all, let me express my deepest sympathies to you and your family. What happened with Marcus has never happened here before and we all are heartbroken about it."

"What exactly did happen?" He asked.

"No one told you?" Joseph asked.

"No." He shook his head. "They just called and said Marcus was dead because of an incident."

"Oh my." Joseph sighed. "They were supposed to tell you more than that. I'm sorry. Your brother committed suicide inside his room sometime after dinner tonight."

"Excuse me…what?"

"He took a bedsheet and created a noose, tying it to the ceiling."

"No." He shook his head. "He wouldn't have done that."

"I understand the natural reaction is denial, but…"

"He hung himself to death?" That just kept getting worse and worse.

"I'm afraid so." Joseph replied. "The police are in his room right now, investigating since it happened here. But I can take you to the room. They will need you to identify the body."

"Ok." He nodded, feeling numb as he followed the man to where Marcus' room was. He wasn't particularly happy about having to identify his little brother's body. But if it was what he needed to do, it was better him doing it than his mom or Rebecca. He stopped outside the door.

"Are you ready?" Joseph asked.

He looked over at the man. "I don't really have a choice about it."

Joseph opened the door for him and he walked inside a few steps. The police were moving around the room, looking at everything. In the corner was a chair that was kicked over. Next to the chair on the floor was Marcus' body. It was in a black body bag that until now he had only ever seen on television.

"Are you family?" One of the cops asked, coming up to him.

"I'm his brother." Harvey managed to say as he took in the surroundings. It was a plain room. The only decorations on the wall were the pictures he had originally packed for Marcus of his family. He had wanted Marcus to have some inspiration on his walls to remember who he was getting treatment for. He thought that would improve Marcus's chances. But obviously that didn't help.

"I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but we do need you to identify him as your brother before the coroner can take him away." The officer stated.

"Of course." He nodded, following the man to the black bag.

The officer slowly unzipped the bag and he couldn't help but gasp softly at the sight before him. Marcus' face was staring back at him. His eyes were still open but they were glassy and lifeless. His skin had a bluish, grey tint to it. He couldn't help but stare at the sight, unable to turn away.

"Is that Marcus Specter?" The officer asked.

He wished he could say no. He wished that this was just a big misunderstanding or a prank and that Marcus would jump out of the body bag and berate him, saying that this was his punishment for hurting him weeks ago about Katie being pregnant. But the realization was dawning on him that Marcus really was gone. This wasn't a prank and it wasn't a misunderstanding. It was reality. His baby brother was dead.

"Yes." He nodded slowly. "That's my brother."

"Thank you." He zipped the bag back up. "We found a note that makes it pretty clear this was a suicide. We are almost finished with our death investigation so if you would like to, you can take the note."

He watched as the officer went over to the bed and brought back the note. He took it from the man's hand.

"Is there a specific funeral home would like your brother to be delivered to?" The officer asked.

He thought about it for a moment, trying to remember which one took care of Katie's funeral. Finally he remembered. "Flanagen's on Fifth Street and Main."

"Alright." The officer nodded. "We will have him sent there. You are free to go. And I'm sorry about your loss."

He simply nodded and then made his way back to his car. It wasn't until he was sitting in the car in the parking lot that he looked at the note. It was folded up in thirds. On the front it said 'To Harvey'

He both did and didn't want to open the note, afraid of what it would say. But after a few minutes he opened it up and started reading.

 _Harvey,_

 _I hope I'm right and you are the one who ends up reading this. I apologize if I am wrong and it is either Mom or Rebecca reading this. You will probably be surprised by some of this because I'm sure Harvey hasn't told you everything that has happened._

 _I'm sorry for everything. I have let everyone down in ways I never thought were possible and I have caused so much pain and upheaval into everyone's lives. You were right to berate me a few weeks ago. This was all my fault._

 _If I hadn't started gambling again, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have racked up such a large debt, the bookie wouldn't have done what he did to Katie and our unborn child and I wouldn't have started drinking, I wouldn't have taken money from my restaurants like an idiot and then I wouldn't have driven drunk with Olivia in the car. She wouldn't have gotten her first broken bone and had to stay the night in the hospital. I wouldn't have been charged with felonies and I wouldn't be in here._

 _I wouldn't have had to make you stay in Boston with my kids and I wouldn't have put you in the position you are in now of having to try and defend your kid brother who is nothing but a screw up._

 _You were right. I have caused nothing but heartache for everyone and I have hurt everyone I love with my actions. I've thought about this nonstop for the past few weeks and I truly can't see any other way out of this. I know that as much as I want to promise I will never gamble or drink again, I doubt I will be able to keep that promise. As I write this, I want a drink so badly. I just want to drink until I forget everything bad that has happened. So I know that long-term I won't be able to resist that temptation. And as much as I want to trust that you will get me acquitted of these charges, I realize I will likely spend time in prison away from my kids._

 _I don't deserve my kids. I realize that now. They are the best part of me and Katie and I will love them forever. I love them more than anything and it kills me to be away from them, but I can't let them see me like this. I can't trust that I will ever be the father they need me to be or deserve. Katie was the better parent. She should be here with them instead of me._

 _I hope you will tell them that this has nothing to do with how much I love them. If anything, I am doing this because I love them so much. I can't stand to see them disappointed in me or knowing that I have let them down. But I have. I have let them down so badly. I don't think there is a way I can ever make it up to them._

 _But I will always love them. Please make sure they know that. And they will be much better off without me dragging them down like a giant anchor around their necks._

 _And please make sure that Mom knows this isn't a failure on her part. There wasn't anything she could have done to change the way things played out. She was a great mom and a great grandma. This wasn't her fault._

 _Rebecca also needs to know that she didn't do anything wrong either. Although I rejected her calls, I appreciated her trying to check on me so often. It was nice having her as a sister. You lucked out and found a good woman to love you. Don't let her get away. But there wasn't anything she could do to help me so that's why I rejected her calls. This wasn't her fault either._

 _You were more than harsh when you told me about the baby Katie was carrying when she died. You were cruel. I hated you for it. I still kind of hate you for it. But you were right to tell me. I needed to know just how horrible I was….just how toxic I was to the people I love._

 _That's why I am doing this. I can't stand the pain anymore. I want to be reunited with Katie so badly that it physically hurts. I know it seems selfish. I realize that. But I can't live like this anymore. I can't live with the guilt over knowing that my gambling debt not only caused Katie to die but also an innocent baby that never got to be born. It's too much for me to handle. I'm sorry if that makes me weak or a coward._

 _I know you and Rebecca will take in my kids. I know that you will love them like they are your own because that's what you do. You clean up my messes. And this is the biggest mess I've ever made. I'm sorry that you will left to take care of everything. But not sorry enough to change my mind. Everyone is going to be better off without having to deal with me and my issues._

 _You are officially released from having to clean up my messes. This will be the last mess you have to clean up._

 _Please tell everyone I am sorry and I love them. Also, I don't want a big funeral. Maybe just have a small memorial service and let that be that._

 _And I'm sorry Harvey. I tried to be a brother you could be proud of. I tried to be like you. I just failed. Maybe someday you can forgive me. But if you can't, that's ok too because I can't forgive myself. Maybe there are things in this life that can't be forgiven._

 _Marcus_

He finished the letter and couldn't stop the tears from falling. He didn't know Marcus was hurting that badly. He should have known though. He should have busted his way through the doors of the rehab and demanded that Marcus talk to him. And he shouldn't have told Marcus about the baby in the first place. Maybe things would have been different. But no. He had to lash out at his younger brother. If he had just kept his mouth shut, then things would have been different.

After reading the letter, he came away with one recurring thought.

This whole situation was entirely his own fault because he failed Marcus.

* * *

Rebecca sat in the living room, waiting for Harvey to get back. She had sent Lily to bed about an hour ago because it was 1am and Harvey still wasn't back yet. He had called earlier and told them that Marcus had committed suicide and they took his body away to the funeral home. He made it sound like he would be back soon, but that was several hours ago.

She heard the door open and rushed over to see Harvey closing the door. When he turned around, she saw his red-rimmed eyes and her heart broke for him. She immediately ran over and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"He's really gone." Harvey whispered back.

"I know."

"Where is my mom?"

"I sent her upstairs to bed." She explained, pulling away just enough so she could look at his face. "What can I do for you? Do you want to talk? Do you want a drink?"

"I just want to go upstairs and lay down with you in my arms." He told her.

"Consider it done." She grabbed his hand and guided him up the stairs to their room. Once they got into the room, she gently pushed him onto the bed. She made quick work of taking off his shoes and was going to take the rest of his clothes off for him but he stopped her, grabbing on to her waist and pressing his head up against her stomach.

"When is it all going to stop?" He whispered. "When are we going to stop getting used to things turning out one way only to have them get completely blown up a few weeks later?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly. She grabbed his head and moved it so she could look him in the eyes. "But we can get through this, just like we've gotten through everything else before. I promise you that. Now let's get you into bed."

He simply nodded and laid back on the bed.

She cuddled up next to him, laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arm around his waist.


	40. Chapter 40

Skyfall

Chapter Forty

Rebecca woke up the next morning and turned around in bed, expecting to see Harvey. But the bed was empty. The clock on the nightstand said it was 7:24 am. She wondered how long ago he got up but pushed the thought out of her mind because that didn't matter in the long run. She quickly got out of bed and changed her clothes.

Then she walked down the hallway to Olivia's room. She opened the door quietly and saw that the girl was still sleeping. So she closed the door. Then she went to Ethan's room and did the same thing. He was still asleep too. So she closed the door quietly and went downstairs.

She searched all of the rooms downstairs for Harvey but couldn't find him. So she opened the back door and saw him sitting on the top step of the deck.

"Hey. I wondered where you went." She told him, sitting next to him and linking her arm with his.

"I couldn't sleep and I didn't want my tossing and turning to wake you up." He told her as he stared into his coffee cup.

"I wouldn't have minded." She kissed him on the cheek. "Did you get any sleep at all?"

"Not really." He shook his head. "Do you want some of my coffee?"

"I'd love some." She smiled, taking the cup when he offered it and enjoying a few sips of it. After a few minutes she handed the cup back to him. "Harvey, I know your head must be spinning right now. Mine is too. But we have some pretty serious things to discuss."

"I know." He nodded. "The kids have to come live with us." He turned to look at her. "It's not even a question. We have to take them in. I'm sorry if that's not what you want…"

"Honestly, the only reason I don't want to do that is because they deserve to be with their parents. But since that isn't a possibility anymore, I agree with you that they have to come live with us. I think we have a responsibility to them to take care of their kids." She explained. "It does present some issues though."

"What kind of issues?" He asked.

"Space for one." She told him. "We need to find a different place to live because there is no way our place can fit that many people."

"You're right." He nodded.

"We also need to enroll them in school." She pointed out.

"Yeah." He groaned.

She could see that his mind was somewhere else. "Don't worry. I'll take care of all of it."

"Thank you."

"We do need to think about how to tell the kids though." She wasn't looking forward to it.

"I know." He sighed. "I'm dreading it."

"Do you think maybe we should split up and tell them individually?" She suggested.

"It might be better that way." He shrugged. "We can be more honest with Ethan if Olivia isn't in the room. I'll tell Olivia. You and my mom can tell Ethan, unless she decides she wants to be with me when I tell Olivia."

"Ok." She nodded. A part of her wanted to tell him about the baby. She thought maybe it might put a smile on his face. But another part of her didn't think this was the right time. As much as she wanted him to know about the life they created, he wasn't in the right head space for news like that.

"Can anyone join this party?" Lily asked, sitting next to her.

"Yeah, but it's a pretty crappy party." Harvey told her.

"We were just discussing how to tell the kids. I think we are going to split up. Do you want to be there to tell Olivia with Harvey or Ethan with me?" She asked.

"Olivia." Lily replied. "She will have more questions at first than Ethan. It will be easier if there are two people there. Besides, you have a good relationship with Ethan. He listens to you and you seem to be able to calm him down. Having me there may alter that."

"Ok." She nodded. "When should we tell them?"

"Tell them what?" Ethan asked from the doorway.

All three of them turned to look. Ethan and Olivia were standing in the doorway.

"There is something we need to talk about." She said, getting up from the stairs. "Ethan, do you want to come with me?"

"I guess." He said reluctantly.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Let's go to your room for a moment."

The walk up to his room was silent and she watched as he went to sit on the edge of his bed.

"What's wrong this time?" He sighed.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing good has ever come from the phrase 'there is something we need to talk about'. Every time you guys use it, it means our lives are about to change again. So tell me…what's wrong this time?"

She went over and sat next to him. "I hate that you are getting so jaded. You should be enjoying your childhood…not worrying about what bad thing is going to happen next."

"Aunt Becca, can you just tell me already?"

"Ok." She gave him a small smile. "I'm not exactly sure how to say this, so bear with me. You know that you are loved by a whole lot of people, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well you are right that something new is wrong. And it will change everything again. But you are still loved and you are still going to be taken care of no matter what."

"What's changing this time?" He sighed.

"Unfortunately your dad isn't coming back from rehab like we planned." She told him.

"Is he going to jail instead?" Ethan asked softly.

"No." She shook her head. "Actually, your dad…he…well he died last night."

"No way." Ethan shook his head. "You're lying."

"I really wish I was." She told him. "I wish I was wrong about this. I'm sorry. I know this isn't fair and I know it has got to hurt…"

"You don't know anything!" Ethan yelled. "Stop lying to me about my dad! He can't be dead!"

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. But he is dead." She went to give him a hug but he stood up and walked to the other side of the room.

"No!" Ethan yelled. "He can't be…It's just not fair…I already lost my mom…I can't…can't lose him too." He finally sank to the floor.

She hurried over and embraced him in a tight hug. "I know what it's like to lose your parents. It isn't easy and it hurts. I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. But it's going to be ok."

"How?" Ethan scoffed. "We're orphans now."

"Uncle Harvey and I are going to take care of you two." She told him. "I promised you that you would always be taken care of and I'm not about to break that promise now."

"He's really gone?" Ethan's voice cracked and she could tell that he was going to cry any minute.

"Yes." She nodded. "He's really gone."

"How did he die?"

She was worried he would ask that and didn't know just how specific she should get with him. He wasn't a young kid, but he wasn't ready to know everything yet. "Sometimes adults start to feel incredibly overwhelmed by their problems and their issues. And if they aren't careful, it can wear them down to the point where they can't see any other way out…"

"You mean he killed himself?" Ethan yelled.

"Yes, sweetie. I'm sorry." She told him, watching as he got up and started to pace.

"So what you are telling me is that he chose to leave us?" Ethan pointed out, his voice getting louder.

"He had some issues he was dealing with." She explained. "And although he loved you and your sister more than anything in this world, he couldn't get past those issues."

"So he was a coward?" Ethan asked. "My dad was a selfish coward who took the easy way out and left us as orphans. And he obviously didn't love us or else he wouldn't have killed himself. So don't lie to me."

"I know this is an incredibly difficult thing for you to process right now." She told him. "It's natural that you have some anger towards him. I'm not going to try and tell you otherwise because you have to grieve in your own way. But I will say this. I'm not 100% sure what was going through your father's head when he decided to do what he did last night. But I am 100% sure that he loved you and Olivia with his whole heart. Now you can be mad at him all you want. You can be mad at the world. You can even be mad at me for telling you about it if that's what you want and that's how you want to grieve. But please, never doubt that he loved you."

Ethan sat back down on the bed and started to cry, putting his head in his hands.

She rushed over and sat next to him, putting his head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. "I am so sorry Ethan. But we are all going to find a way to get through this. I promise. Everything is going to be just fine."

"Every time you tell me bad news, I find it harder and harder to believe you when you say everything will be fine." He whispered through his tears.

* * *

Harvey and his mom sat down on the couch with Olivia between them.

"So we need to talk to you about something." Lily started the conversation.

"What is it?" Olivia asked, smiling at both of them.

"Well, something happened last night." Harvey said. "And it was something that is going to make you sad."

"Ok." Olivia nodded, the smile fading from her face.

"Your father won't be coming home from rehab like we planned." Lily told her.

"Is he staying there longer?" Olivia asked.

"Not quite." Harvey explained. "You see, the thing is he went to go be with your mom."

Olivia looked confused. "But she is in Heaven and once you go to Heaven you can't come back here."

"That's right." Lily nodded.

"So my daddy's not coming back?"

"No." Harvey said. "He isn't."

"Why?"

"He's dead, sweetheart." Lily told her.

"Why is he in Heaven?"

"He missed your mommy very much." Lily explained.

"But what about me?" Olivia asked. "And Ethan? Won't he miss us?"

"I'm sure he will." Lily told her.

"He loved you and your brother more than anything else in this world." Harvey told her.

"Then why did he leave us?" Olivia asked.

"I don't have a good answer for that." Lily replied.

"So what does it all mean?" Olivia asked, looking confused. "Uncle Harvey, are you staying here with us forever?"

"No. Actually it means you and Ethan are going to come live with me and Aunt Becca in New York City." Harvey told her.

"But I want my daddy." Olivia told them, starting to cry.

"I know." Lily gave her a hug. "And I'm sorry."


	41. Chapter 41

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-One

Rebecca pushed the button on her phone, becoming anxious as it started to ring.

"What's wrong?" Donna's voice came through on the other end.

"Why do you think something is wrong?" She asked.

"Because it is Saturday." Donna laughed. "You are in Boston and you are supposed to be having fun with Harvey and the kids. But instead you are calling me. So what's wrong?"

"I don't know how to say it, other than just straight out." She sighed. "Marcus is dead."

"What?" Donna gasped. "How?"

"He killed himself last night at the rehab center." She explained.

"Oh my God."

"Yeah."

"How is Harvey doing?" Donna asked after a moment.

"He is devastated." She explained. "I've never seen him like this. It's much worse than when Katie died."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm…I don't know anymore." She admitted. "I just wanted to let you know what was going on so you could let everyone know I won't be back on Monday like I planned. Most of the meetings I have on Monday can be rescheduled and I don't have court until later in the week so…"

"You take as much time as you need." Donna interrupted her. "I'll make sure everything here is covered."

"Thank you." She smiled, even though Donna couldn't see it. "I'm setting up the memorial to be on Monday. So I will probably be back on Wednesday."

"You don't have to rush back."

"I know." She conceded. "But I have to figure out a new place for us to live because we are bringing Ethan and Olivia to live with us. And I need to find schools for them…I just have a long list of things to do."

"If you need any help with it, just let me know."

"Thanks Donna."

"And if you need to talk, you know where to find me."

"I appreciate it."

"You know, once I tell everyone what happened, they are going to want to come for the memorial." Donna warned her.

"It's just going to be a small gathering at the same funeral home that handled Katie's death at 1 pm." She explained. "Marcus apparently wrote in his note that he didn't want a big funeral like Katie so we aren't having it at the church. While I appreciate that they would want to come, I don't think it is a good idea."

"Ok." Donna said. "I'll let everyone know."

"Thank you." She replied.

"Please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." Donna told her.

"I appreciate it."

"Take care and tell Harvey…well tell him I'm sorry."

"I will." She said before ending the call.

* * *

That night after dinner, Harvey went outside with a beer and sat on the top step of the deck. He looked out at the backyard and sighed. This whole thing was his fault. He should have known that Marcus wasn't strong enough to deal with the fact that Katie was pregnant when she died. It was the whole reason why none of them told him after Katie's death. They all knew it would devastate him.

But he had to go and rub it in Marcus' face while also telling him that he was a screw up. He should have insisted that he be let into the rehab place so that he could make things right with Marcus. But instead he believed that they would talk things through once he completed rehab. That was a huge mistake. He shouldn't have let Marcus go so long thinking that he was mad at him.

He really wasn't. He just got mad at the time and frustrated. By the next day most of his anger was gone but the damage had been done. And now there was no way to let his brother know how sorry he was. Now there was only a mountain of guilt and regret.

"Uncle Harvey?"

He looked over to see Olivia standing next to him. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can you please put me to bed tonight?" She asked.

He sighed and nodded. "Of course." He took a big gulp of his beer and then got up. After placing the rest of the beer on the table, he walked over and picked Olivia up, gathering her in his arms.

"Thanks Uncle Harvey." She smiled.

"You're welcome, kiddo." He said, forcing a smile her way. Once he got to her room he placed her gently on the bed and watched as she slid under the covers.

"Uncle Harvey?"

"Yes?" He looked over at her.

"Are you sad like me?" She asked.

He sat down next to her on the bed and sighed. "Actually…yes. I am incredibly sad. Your dad was my brother and I miss him."

"I'd be really sad too if Ethan was in Heaven." She told him before chuckled. "Except when he is mean to me. I wouldn't miss that."

He forced another small smile.

"What was my daddy like as a kid?" She asked with a huge smile on her face.

He sighed, not wanting to get into childhood memories. But he couldn't find a way to say no to his niece, especially since this was the first time he had seen her smile today since they told her about Marcus' death.

"He was…well see our father was on the road a lot when we were growing up. So it was normal for us to go a week without seeing him because he was traveling around and playing music. Since I was older than your dad, I was usually left in charge of him. It seemed like he was always getting into trouble and I was always trying to fix things."

He remembered an incident from the past. "One time, when your dad was your age…"

 _Harvey walked down the stairs. He was in charge of Marcus while their mom when to the grocery. As he got to the final step, he heard a loud crash from the living room and hurried over. "What happened?" He asked, stopping in the doorway when he saw a vase on the floor right next to Marcus' basketball. "Mom is going to kill you when she gets home."_

" _She will also be mad at you because you let me play ball in the house." Marcus pointed out._

" _I was upstairs for two minutes." He argued. "That doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want and then blame it on me."_

" _Look, I just wanted to try spinning the basketball on my finger. It looks so cool when the other kids at school do it."_

" _Well then try it outside. Not in the living room!" Harvey yelled._

" _Ok. But how are we going to fix this?"_

" _Get me the superglue."_

 _A few moments later, Marcus came back with the glue and placed it in Harvey's hand._

" _I don't think this is going to work." Harvey sighed, looking at the pieces._

" _We have to try." Marcus encouraged him._

" _Sometimes you can't put broken pieces back together again."_

"So what happened?" Olivia asked.

"We both got in trouble." Harvey chuckled. "He was in trouble for playing ball in the house and I was in trouble for not supervising him as much as he apparently needed. So we both got grounded."

"That doesn't seem fair." Olivia complained.

"It taught us a lesson though." He pointed out.

"I guess." She yawned. "Thanks for the story."

"You're welcome. Do you want me to read you a book?"

"No." She shook her head as her eyes started to droop. "I just wanted to hear about my daddy."

He watched as she fell asleep and stayed next to her bed for a moment. Reliving a memory about Marcus was bittersweet. He was glad it was able to make her smile though.

He didn't feel like leaving yet so he adjusted the covers for her and continued to sit on the side of her bed.

* * *

Rebecca sighed as she typed into her computer.

"It's getting late. What are you doing?" Lily asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

"I'm trying to find a place for us to live." She sighed. "Since we are taking in Olivia and Ethan, then we need a bigger place and we need schools close by that are good."

"Do you have to do that now?" Lily questioned.

"I already have Marcus' memorial service all planned. Everything is ready and set up." She explained.

"That wasn't the reason I asked. I asked because it's getting late."

"I have to get started on this." She sighed again. "I told Harvey this morning I would take care of it and I want to honor my word."

"Yeah, but…"

"Don't worry." She assured the woman. "I just need to continue working through the long list of things that need taken care of."

"Rebecca, dear, I do appreciate you taking care of the memorial service because I know Harvey and I couldn't do it right now. But you need to slow down. Everything doesn't have to be taken care of immediately."

"I know that." She looked over at Lily.

"Do you?" Lily asked. "You need to take the time to grieve as well."

"I know." She nodded. "I just…I need to get this done. I need to at least narrow it down to the top five places so that when I get back to New York City I can take a look at these places. The sooner I pick something, the sooner we can get the kids moved."

"Is Harvey going to help you pick out a place?"

"No." She shook her head. "I don't think so. He is…preoccupied."

"I know, but he should still help you." Lily pointed out. "This is going to be your home together."

"I don't think he cares right now.' She scoffed.

"He is taking Marcus' death very personally." Lily noted.

"Yes, he is." She agreed. "I don't know how to help him or reach him."

"Just be there for him like you have been. It will be alright." Lily advised. "Are you ok?"

"Of course." She said, trying to give the woman a small smile.

"You don't have to pretend with me." Lily chuckled. "I've gotten a chance to know you pretty well the past month and I know for a fact you aren't fine."

"Ok. I'm not fine. But I will be." She assured her. "I'm devastated about Marcus but I'm more worried about everyone else."

"I know you are." Lily nodded. "I've seen you bouncing around all day trying to make things better for everyone. But you need to take care of yourself too. Have you at least been talking to Harvey about it?"

"No." She shook her head. "He's been too distant."

"I thought maybe he wasn't talking to me because he didn't feel like we had reached that level of closeness in our new and improved relationship. But he isn't talking to you either?"

"Nope." She shook her head.

"I'm sure he is just processing things and will talk to you soon." Lily smiled at her. "In the meantime, do you want to talk to me?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'm not going to burden you with it."

"You aren't burdening me." Lily assured her. "You've been listening to me whine and complain about the treatments for weeks now, and you let me cry on your shoulder for hours last night. I think it's clear at the very least I owe you my shoulder."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Still…we could argue about it all night or you could just talk to me. So spill it."

She hesitated for a moment but then decided to talk. "I just feel horrible because I feel like I should have made more of an effort to reach out to Marcus. I should have gone over there on the weekends and made him talk to me."

"You can't feel bad about that." Lily advised. "I know I am struggling with it too, but we both tried to reach out to him. We both tried to let him know we were there for him. In the end, he is responsible for his own decisions. It's something I am having a hard time accepting too, but that is the reality."

"Yeah." She nodded. Everything she said was making sense.

"None of us knew exactly how troubled he was, but that doesn't necessarily mean we failed him. It just means we didn't communicate well enough. And the lesson we need to take away from that is we need to be telling each other everything." Lily reasoned.

"You're right." She nodded. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Lily replied. "And try not to worry about Harvey too much. Everything will be fine."

"You are right about it getting late." She yawned. "I think I'll just go to bed."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She reached over and gave Lily a hug. Then she picked up her laptop and headed upstairs. She saw Harvey come out of Olivia's room and smiled.

"Hey." He greeted quietly.

"Hey." She whispered. "I wondered what happened to you."

"Olivia wanted me to put her to bed and then I just sat there watching her sleep for a while." He explained.

"I'm going to bed." She told him. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "I'm going to stay up a little while longer."

She was disappointed but tried not to let it show. "Ok. Then I guess I'll say goodnight in case I fall asleep before you come in." She leaned in and gave him a kiss.

Normally he would try to deepen the kiss, or at least wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer. This time though, he just kept his hands to his sides. She ended the kiss quickly. "Goodnight Harvey."

"Goodnight." He said quietly before walking down the hallway towards the stairs.

She watched him walk away and sighed. Once he was out of her sight she headed towards their room.


	42. Chapter 42

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Two

Harvey looked into the back of the car. While they separated into two cars and headed to a church service for Katie's funeral, this time they all came to the funeral home together in a larger car. Marcus didn't want a big service moderated by a priest like Katie had, he made that perfectly clear in his note. So they honored his wishes and settled on a small gathering of his family and friends at the funeral home.

Rebecca had set the whole thing up and he felt guilty that she was doing all of the work. But to be honest, he found it difficult to concentrate on anything but his own issues for more than a few minutes.

The past couple of days had felt like they were dragging on forever. It felt like it was just yesterday that it was Friday and his biggest concern was trying to figure out why Rebecca was acting weird. Now it was Monday and that was the least of his concerns right now. He still wanted to know what she was going to tell him before his mom came in and told them that Marcus was dead. But another part of him didn't want to know because he felt like he couldn't take much more. He just wanted to be left alone.

It was stressful enough to know that they were now going to be in charge of Ethan and Olivia for the rest of their lives. While he loved his niece and nephew, he didn't sign up for getting custody of them. He thought that he would be handing them back to Marcus at some point, or even to his mom if the clinical trial worked.

But now he and Rebecca had an instant family, complete with two kids. It was a lot to take in. There was so much logistically that needed to be figured out. He was glad that Rebecca said she would take care of it. If he had to try and find them a new place to live or pick schools right now…well he just couldn't do it.

Marcus' suicide note haunted him. He was keeping it in the glove compartment of the car because he didn't want anyone to find it. His mom had asked to read it several times, but he couldn't let her. She could never see it. He was ashamed of her reaction if she found out that he was the reason Marcus felt so hopeless and feared she would hold him responsible. They were close now after so many years of being apart. He didn't want to take the chance that she may decide to cut him out of her life. He couldn't handle that. It was the same reason he wasn't sure he wanted to tell Rebecca.

He was ashamed of his actions. Memories of his last argument with Marcus filled his head, coupled with the image of seeing his lifeless face at the rehab center. He wasn't sleeping and barely eating.

They pulled up to the funeral home and he got out first, opening the door for Rebecca. His mom got out after her and gathered Ethan and Olivia. They all headed into the building and he felt Rebecca grab a hold of his hand, giving it a soft squeeze.

He felt bad. She had been trying so hard to help him, letting him have his space and not crowding him too much. But he could see in her eyes that all she wanted to do was talk to him. He just couldn't talk yet and he wasn't sure if he would ever be truly ready to talk about it. He could tell that she was hurt by the fact he wasn't talking to her about it, but it just wasn't an option for him.

There were already at least two dozen people already inside milling around the room when they entered. He recognized maybe half of the people that were in his brothers' life. A few moments later, Donna approached them, giving both him and Rebecca a quick hug.

"Everyone else wanted to come today too, but I know you wanted to keep this as small as possible so I convinced them to let me come and represent the firm." Donna explained. "How are you both doing?"

He shrugged.

"We're still trying to process everything." Rebecca spoke up. "Thank you for coming, Donna."

He looked over at his longtime friend and smiled at her. "Yeah. It means a lot that you came."

"Of course." Donna nodded. "If you need me, I'll be over here."

Once Donna walked off, he felt Rebecca lightly drag him into the corner of the room.

"Are you ok?"

He looked at her face. She was worried about him and he knew that she only wanted to help him. But there wasn't anything she could do to help him. He managed to put a small smile on his face and nodded. "I'm ok."

He could see that she didn't believe it. But she let it go for now. She hugged him tightly and he took a moment to enjoy having her in his arms.

"We are going to get through this like we've gotten through everything else." She told him.

"I know." He felt bad for lying again though because he honestly wasn't sure how to get through this.

* * *

Rebecca re-entered the funeral home slowly. The memorial service was still going on inside, but she needed a moment and some fresh air so she escaped. From out in the entryway she could still faintly hear the speaker. Not ready to go back in yet, she stared at the sign directing mourners to the right area. To the left was the Mckenzie memorial service. On the right were the directions to the Specter memorial service.

She didn't think this day would come. She hoped this day wouldn't come. But here it was. Today was just another day in a string of bad luck that had befallen the Specter family.

She knew she should go back in there, sit in the front row and listen to the people saying good things about Marcus. It was expected of her to be in there. There were people in there who needed her. But she didn't have it in her anymore to be the strong one. It was exhausting and she honestly didn't have the energy. She just needed a break.

So she went over to the couch by the window and sat down. It had been one hell of a ride the last few months.

It had only been a few months since things started to go wrong, but with the way time dragged along, it felt like years had passed. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Donna approaching her until her friend sat down next to her.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey. I was getting worried about you." Donna said. "You've been gone for a while."

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I just needed to get away. I hope Harvey isn't too mad. I know I should be in there with him."

"I think he is probably more worried than mad. And he has the support of his mom so I think he is alright for the moment." Donna explained. "Are you ok?"

"No. To be perfectly honest, I'm not." She scoffed. "I've been trying to be the one who consoles everyone else…Harvey, Lily, Ethan and Olivia…I've been trying so hard since Katie died to be there for all of them. I even tried to be there for Marcus. But I obviously failed him."

"You didn't fail him." Donna pointed out. "You did everything you could to be there for him. But he made his own choices. That's not on you."

"Maybe, but maybe I could have tried harder." She conceded. "And now that he is gone, I'm still trying to be there for everyone and make sure they are ok. Bouncing around from person to person to make sure that they are in a good place emotionally and taking care of themselves is exhausting. I'm trying to make sure they are eating and sleeping and they aren't getting too depressed. Plus you add in the fact that I've been working almost around the clock trying to take care of Harvey's and my clients for the last several weeks and coming up here every weekend. It all adds up to the fact that I'm just exhausted."

"I bet you are." Donna nodded. "Especially since you are now pregnant."

She quickly turned her head to look at Donna. "What?"

"Well you are, right?" Donna laughed.

"I…but…" She sighed, knowing there was no point in lying to her friend. "How did you know that? I haven't told anyone about it."

"You have a certain glow around you?" Donna laughed. "No, I realized it last week when you stopped drinking multiple cups of coffee a day, instead switching to ginger tea or lemonade. It's what Rachel drank a lot during both of her pregnancies. Plus you have been going to the ladies room more often. I assume to throw up?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"And you probably left in there because you needed to come out here to throw up, didn't you?"

"That's just freaky that you know all of that." She smiled.

"I'm no longer just the Harvey whisperer. I've also become the Rebecca whisperer too now." Donna smirked.

"But if you knew all of that, why didn't you say anything?"

"I was waiting for you to say something first." Donna shrugged. "Then I got impatient. So how far along are you?"

"Seven weeks." She admitted.

"Does Harvey know?"

"No." She shook her head. "I found out last week. I was going to tell him in person this past weekend when I came up for a visit. I was just about to say it but then Lily came in and told us about Marcus. I haven't felt like there's been a good time to tell him since then."

"There's never going to be a perfect time." Donna pointed out.

"I know." She nodded. "But this is one of the worst times. Marcus is dead. We already have to pack up the kids and move them to New York City. And we need to find a bigger place to live as well as figure out what to do with Marcus' house and the restaurants. I need to find the kids a school to go to and then figure out child care for after school. It's stressful, and I'm not certain he will be happy about this. He asked for six months before we even try to get pregnant. It hasn't even been half of that and now I'm pregnant. Plus with getting Olivia and Ethan…it's a lot. I'm worried it will overwhelm him. I know it's overwhelming me."

"I know you are worried about that, but you still need to tell him."

"I will." She promised. "I just need to find a good time to do it. I'm worried about what his reaction is going to be. He's hanging on by a very thin thread right now and I'm worried this will make things worse for him."

"He will be surprised but I don't think he will consider this a bad thing. You need to tell him soon or else he might think you are hiding it from him and that won't go over very well." Donna patted her leg.

"Is it bad that I needed a break?" She asked quietly.

"No." Donna shook her head. "It's not bad at all. You have to take care of yourself too, especially now that you are pregnant. But do you feel like going back inside yet?"

"Yeah." She agreed. "Let's go."

They stood up to go back in, only to find that they memorial service was now over with and people were starting to file out. She gently pushed her way through the crowd to get back to Harvey.

"Are you ok?" He asked when he saw her.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to miss the rest of it."

"It's fine." He nodded.

She couldn't tell if he meant it or not so she made a mental note to ask him about it later on.

"C'mon. Let's go to the reception." He said.

"Ok." She nodded, grabbing his hand and they walked behind the kids and his mom back to the car.


	43. Chapter 43

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Three

"You've been very quiet lately." Rebecca noted as they got ready for bed that night. She reached behind her and pulled the zipper down.

"Just been thinking." He said, focusing on taking his pants off instead of looking at her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked softly.

"Nope." He shook his head.

She thought back to a couple of months ago when they had their routine of helping each other out of their clothes at the end of a long day. It was something so intimate and such a small thing but she loved that routine. Now she felt like there was a large chasm forming between them.

She wasn't sure exactly when it started. She just knew it started while they were separated. It was just small things that happened occasionally and made her think that she was drifting away from him very slowly. Their routines were shattered and she found it hard to make new ones. Even though she came up here every weekend and they talked all the time, the level of intimacy they shared was decreased. If she wanted to be honest, she felt him pulling away a little at a time. It was clear to see the differences. Simply comparing the aftermath of Katie's death to Marcus' death was a night and day difference.

He wasn't talking to her. He wasn't checking in with her to see how she was doing. Obviously she didn't expect the focus of all of his attention to be on her. She wasn't that selfish. But he was almost completely ignoring her and retreating into himself. She tried but it was hard to reach him for any talk that was more than small talk. He refused to talk about his own pain with her and that hurt because she thought he knew he could tell her anything. She could even look past that if he was at least talking to anyone about it, but he was just shutting himself off from everyone.

It made her worry about what was going on inside that brain of his and she wasn't sure what to do anymore. His way of coping with Marcus' death wasn't healthy.

"Harvey…" She had been letting him have some space the past few days but he was going to have to talk to her at some point. "Keeping everything bottled up inside isn't healthy and it isn't going to help things."

"I know." He nodded.

"Then why are you keeping me in the dark about your feelings?"

"I didn't realize you were the feelings police." He scoffed.

"I'm not." She sighed. "But you aren't talking to anyone about this. If you don't want to talk to me then at least talk to someone else…maybe your mom?"

"No. I'm not talking to her about this." He immediately responded. "And I really don't need you telling me what I should be doing."

"Are you angry with me because I left the memorial service for a little bit?" It seemed like he shut down even more after that and she wondered if it was because he was mad. She couldn't tell from his demeanor because all day today his voice had been monotone and he had been very reserved, until now.

"Now why would I be mad that my own wife left me right in the middle of my brother's memorial service?" He scoffed.

The tone of his voice let her know that he was upset. She had already changed into her pajamas and sat on the edge of the bed. "So you are mad."

"You're Goddamn right I am. Wouldn't you be mad if the situation was reversed?" He asked.

"It's a distinct possibility." She admitted. "But I would hope that I would let you explain why you left before getting angry."

"Fine." He sighed, sitting on the opposite side of the bed. "Tell me. Why did you leave? What was so much more important than staying and supporting me and my family during my younger brother's memorial service? I'd really like to know the answer to that because I needed you and you left."

"You know, I've been working my butt off trying to support you and the rest of the family so don't try to tell me that I somehow dropped the ball today." She pointed out nicely. It didn't escape her that he called them his family, but she chose not to call attention to that fact.

"You still left the memorial." He pointed out.

"Ok. Yes, I did. I left for a short time because I needed some fresh air. I realize that sounds incredibly selfish and I hated leaving you for even a moment. But I had a good reason."

"What kind of good reason is there for leaving the memorial service?" He yelled.

"I don't know if you remember, but I was trying to tell you something the other night before your mom came in."

"Yeah. I remember that." He nodded.

"Well what I was just about to tell you then, was that I'm pregnant." She moved to look at his face for any type of reaction. But his face didn't give anything away. It was like he had been turned into a stone figure. She wasn't sure what to think about his non-reaction, but she was pretty sure that wasn't a good sign.

"So I left memorial service because I felt some morning sickness coming on and I didn't really want to throw up all over everyone." She thought maybe if she explained more he would say something.

He just kept staring straight ahead. For a moment she wondered if she had broken him.

After a few more minutes, she was getting impatient. "Harvey…are you going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say?" He asked softly.

"Well…I know what I want you to say, but at this point I would settle for you saying anything." She sighed.

"I am not sure what to say." He admitted.

She went over and sat next to him on the bed, covering his hand with hers. "Look, I realize that this is unexpected. It caught me off-guard too. I wasn't expecting it at all. And I know the timing is horrible…"

"You're goddamn right the timing is horrible!" He yelled, standing up and facing her. "What were you thinking? Are you insane? We have enough on our plate right now without adding a baby into the mix."

"I realize that and I agree to a certain extent but the fact remains that we are having a baby." She pointed out, not liking the fact that he was cursing about this. That was never a good sign.

"I thought we decided not to have kids yet." He sighed. "I thought that we decided to wait a few more months before even trying."

"We did." She explained as she stood up. "But birth control is not always 100% effective."

"Obviously." He sighed. "Did you plan this?"

She scoffed. "No Harvey…I didn't plan this. I was just as shocked as you are when I found out."

"And when did you find out?" He questioned.

"Almost a week ago."

"And you didn't tell me immediately?"

"No." She shook her head. "Because I wanted to tell you in person. I didn't think this was the kind of thing I should spring on you in a text or phone call."

"And you are happy about this?" He pointed out.

"Yeah." She nodded. "And I'm not going to apologize for being happy about carrying your child. I will apologize for it being an inconvenient time for you and having to tell you like this, in the middle of everything that is going on…But I'm not sorry about this baby existing."

"I guess you're finally getting everything you have ever wanted." He sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She knew he wasn't going to be in the right frame of mind to be thrilled and super happy about this pregnancy. But she never thought that he would be this hostile towards her.

"This whole situation is working out pretty well for you. You get an instant family with Ethan and Olivia. You get to have the older boy and younger girl that you said you always wanted. And now you get a bonus baby with me." He explained.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to lash out at him the way he was lashing out at her. She couldn't help it when a tear fell from her left eye. "You know, you've said some pretty harsh things to me over the years. But I think that is the most insulting thing you have ever said. I know you are hurting about Marcus and I know you are having trouble dealing with everything but that doesn't give you the right to lash out at me or treat me this way."

She looked at his face and saw that he did at least have the decency to look contrite about what he just said.

"I'm sorry if this baby is an inconvenience to you. I'm sorry if you are mad at me getting pregnant right now because I know that wasn't the plan. But look around, Harvey! None of the things that have happened lately have gone according to plan! We make plans and then they get fucked up and all we can do is deal with it. Still, I'm not going to let you stand there and try to make me feel like crap about it. This was supposed to be a happy moment. Normally when a wife tells her husband that she is pregnant there is celebrating or at least smiles. All you are doing is shitting all over what should be a happy moment sandwiched in between sadness. So if you aren't going to say something nice and be happy about this baby or at least pretend to be happy, then just leave me the hell alone tonight. Get out and go sleep on the couch."

She hated being so harsh to him, but she wasn't going to let him talk to her like that. As much as she understood he was dealing with a lot, it still didn't excuse his behavior and she had expected more from him.

"Fine." He sighed, turning around and leaving the room.

"Fine!" She yelled after him.

As soon as he was gone, she sat back on the bed and started to sob.


	44. Chapter 44

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Four

After Harvey left the bedroom he headed straight for the kitchen and a beer. This evening turned out to be a huge mess and, once again it was his fault for lashing out. She told him something he knew she was happy about and she was right. All he did was shit all over it. It could have been a happy moment. It should have been a happy moment. Instead, he turned it into a fight…a bad fight.

It wasn't fair of him to project his anger onto her. It wasn't her fault that she was pregnant. He had played a part in it too, and he didn't truly think she planned it. But once again he slipped into old habits and lashed out in pain. He hated himself for it because he had been doing so much better about not lashing out. The past couple of months had caused him to revert back to his old self and he didn't like it, but felt powerless to stop it. He could see what was happening afterwards, but that did nothing to help him in the moment.

After a while he realized he was projecting his anger at Marcus onto her because he wasn't able to express his anger to Marcus. But it wasn't fair to her and he had to apologize.

He thought about her news. She was pregnant. Ever since they agreed to wait the six months, he had wondered for a while now how he would feel when she told him she was pregnant. In the back of his mind he always thought he would be panicked hearing the news that they were bringing a child into the world. Although he was nervous and scared, he wasn't panicked about his ability to be a parent. Taking care of Ethan and Olivia had been a good trial by fire for him to gain some confidence in his abilities to take care of kids.

Now he just had to find the confidence to face Rebecca. She had every right to kick him out of the bedroom and a part of him was proud of her for standing up for herself. He put the empty beer bottle in the recycling and then headed upstairs.

He slowly turned the doorknob of the bedroom, noting that the room was pitch black. He quietly closed the door behind him in case she was sleeping. Coming back in here tonight was a risky idea. She might still be pissed off at him. To be honest though, she would have every right to be. He treated her horribly and he felt like a gigantic asshole.

She was laying on the bed with her back to the door so he couldn't tell if she was asleep.

"Are you awake?" He asked softly. If she was asleep, he would just climb into bed with her and apologize in the morning. If she was awake, he would do it tonight.

"No." Came the soft reply.

He couldn't help but smile a little as he came to her side of the bed. He turned on the bedside light and knelt down so their faces were at the same level. With some light in the room he could see her eyes were red. He hated knowing that she was up here crying because of what he said and wished he could take it back.

"Harvey, I'm exhausted…mentally, physically and emotionally. So if you want to come back and sleep here tonight, that's fine with me. But I don't want to get into this again if we are just going to fight. I don't have it in me tonight." She whispered.

"I don't want to fight either." He told her. "I want to apologize, though I don't think any apology is ever going to be good enough. I'm so incredibly sorry. You told me something good and I just attacked you. I lashed out and I tried to make you feel like shit. It wasn't fair to you at all."

"No it wasn't." She sighed, carefully swinging her legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. "What the hell is going on with you? I know you are heartbroken about Marcus, but it seems like it goes deeper than that."

"I don't want to talk about it." He shrugged. He wasn't ready to tell her everything, and he wasn't sure he would ever be ready to tell her everything.

"Harvey…" She reached over and put her hands on the sides of his face. "I love you…so damn much it hurts sometimes. You can tell me anything. I hope you know that. I'm here for you and I just want to help you. But I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

He stared in her eyes and knew she was telling the truth. He knew that she would do anything for him because she loved him that much. Maybe there was something he could tell her about why he was so messed up by Marcus' death…something that would hopefully explain a little of why he was so rattled without having to get into the details of his fight with Marcus.

"When I went to the rehab center that night, they told me about how Marcus killed himself. And it didn't quite sink in yet that he was actually gone." He started to explain. "They walked me back to his room and I went in, not really knowing what to expect. Thankfully they already had his body cut down from the ceiling so I didn't have to see that. He was already put into one of those body bags. But then then made me identify him."

"You never told me that happened." She gasped.

"I didn't know how to." He admitted. "Seeing him like that…his face…it's something I can't get out of my head. I can't stop seeing it every time I close my eyes."

"Which is why you aren't sleeping." She guessed.

"Yeah." He nodded. It was partly why he couldn't sleep.

"I'm so sorry that you had to do that." She gently kissed his forehead. "Things are going to get better. We just have to get through each day, and then each day after that will get easier. I promise you."

"Still…even though I'm going through that…it's no excuse for how I acted earlier."

"No. It isn't. But it definitely explains some things and fills in some of the questions I have." She said softly. "Look, I know this baby is a surprise. It was for me too. And I know it's probably the wrong time to tell you and it's not a convenient time for us to have a baby. We have so much going on right now. So I understand if you aren't happy about it right now. I just need you to know that I can be happy about the baby for both of us right now if that would help while you get used to the idea…"

He silenced her by pulling her up to a standing position and kissing her. He wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly. "I was a goddamn idiot earlier." He whispered when he finally pulled his lips off of hers.

"Harvey…"

"No." He interrupted. "Let me finish. Please. I shouldn't have freaked out like that. I shouldn't have treated you that way. I've tried so hard to not act that way anymore but I failed tonight. And I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that and I didn't mean it when I accused you of planning this or any of the other stuff I said. You're right that it isn't a convenient time. But when is a convenient time? There's always going to be something going on and if we waited for the perfect time we'd probably never have a kid because there is no perfect time. And you were right. I took something that should have a happy moment and turned it into an ugly moment."

He paused for a moment. "I love you Rebecca. I love you more than I could ever possibly express. And the fact that you are carrying my child…it makes me love you even more."

"You're saying you're happy about this?" She asked.

He could see the hope and the skepticism in her eyes. So he kissed her again.

"I'm saying I'm thrilled." He whispered. "And also very nervous."

"Join the club." She chuckled. "So far I'm the only member."

"Consider me the second member of your club." He smirked. "How far along are you?"

"Almost seven weeks." She bit her lip. "It means it happened around the time of Marcus' DUI."

He chuckled. "Possibly even the night at the baseball field?"

She smiled. "I like to think that's when it happened."

"I like that thought too." He agreed, seeing her yawn.

"I wasn't lying about being exhausted." She told him.

"Of course." He nodded, guiding her back to the bed and tucking her in before getting in on the other side. "Get some sleep and we can talk in the morning."

"Are you going to be able to sleep?" She asked.

"Maybe." He shrugged. He doubted he would be able to sleep, but he didn't want to worry her about it. "If not, I'll just lay here and hold you all night."


	45. Chapter 45

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Five

Rebecca woke up the next morning with Harvey's arm around her. His hand was on her stomach and she couldn't help but smile. Although last night didn't go how she would have liked, she hoped that he was happier about the news now.

His words last night cut her like a dagger. It had been quite a while since he had lashed out quite so viciously at her. Honestly she thought those days were behind them. She thought they had learned how to argue without acting like that. But apparently she was wrong. Apparently in times of extreme crisis he was going to be more likely to lash out at her.

She tried to blame it on his grief about seeing Marcus at the rehab center, like he said last night. But something didn't feel right about it. Her gut told her there was still something he wasn't saying, something else that was bothering him. While she was sure seeing Marcus and having to identify him right after he died was rough, she didn't think that was the only thing weighing on him. Getting him to talk to her about it was going to be tough though because she could tell he didn't want to get into it.

It was a mess and she wasn't sure what to do other than to continue to be there for him and let him know that she would listen to whatever he had to say.

She turned slowly so that she was laying on her back. It was then that she noticed that Harvey was asleep. Sleep was something that had been alluding him for the past couple of nights so she didn't want to do anything to wake him.

Instead she simply watched him sleep. It was one of her favorite things to do on the weekends if she was lucky enough to wake up before him. She had to make up for the lost time on the weekdays that she didn't get to see his face. In the past, there was usually a hint of a smile on his face while he slept. But over the past few weekends, the smile was replaced with an almost pained look.

He had that same pained look this morning and she wondered what he was dreaming about.

* * *

 _Harvey walked down the corridor slowly, making his way towards Marcus' room at the rehab center. When he reached the door, his hand hovered over the door knob. He hesitated for a moment before turning the knob. Once the door was open, he walked in a few feet. That's when he saw Marcus standing on a chair with a bed sheet wrapped around his neck._

" _What the hell is going on here?" He asked._

" _What does it look like, dumbass?" Marcus scoffed. "I'm killing myself."_

" _But why?"_

" _C'mon Harvey, after everything that has happened, do you really have to ask me that?" Marcus laughed. "I've been a loser my whole life. You can't deny that. You've been following me around the whole time, cleaning up my messes. And everything I have done, except for Ethan and Olivia, has turned out to be a disaster. Those two kids are the only good things I've ever done and I'm not about to mess them up any more than I already have."_

" _But this…killing yourself…it will destroy them." He pointed out._

" _No it won't." Marcus argued. "They will have you and they will also have Rebecca, unless you drive her away. I actually hope you don't drive her away because she's perfect for you…but let's be brutally honest. Isn't that what you decided we should be with each other now? Brutally honest? Anyway, you probably will drive her away sooner or later. It's only a matter of time."_

 _Marcus paused. "Us Specter men…we are doomed to be alone and doomed to be unhappy by things caused from our own actions. My actions caused Katie to die, leaving me alone and unhappy. And just look at dad. He left mom alone all that time being on the road, practically giving her a free pass to cheat on him left, right and sideways. He was in so much pain for a long time because of the break up with mom. He dealt with it, but he never started a new relationship. You can't tell me that wasn't because of what happened. Maybe you should do Rebecca a favor and just cut her loose now. Save yourselves a bunch of time and heartache. Because you know once she finds out everything she won't stay around. She'll leave you just like everyone else."_

" _Look, this isn't about dad or Katie and it certainly isn't about my relationship with Rebecca, which you know nothing about by the way." He argued. "It's about you and this crazy, rash decision to kill yourself."_

" _It's not crazy and it's not rash." Marcus laughed. "I have thought about this for weeks. It's the only decision that makes sense to be since you told me exactly what you thought about me."_

" _I was wrong. I was so wrong." He admitted. "Marcus, just come down from there and we can talk about this. Please. I didn't mean what I said a few weeks ago. I was angry but I crossed a line and I didn't mean…"_

" _You said what you believed to be the truth." Marcus pointed out. "And I happen to think you were right. I've caused nothing but pain to everyone. So this is my way of making it right. This is my solution to everything."_

" _You're just going to cause more pain though."_

" _Maybe at first." Marcus admitted. "But then you will all get over it."_

" _That's not true!" Harvey argued. "We're never going to get over it."_

" _Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. But I'm doing this because of you big brother." Marcus explained._

" _No!" He yelled. "Don't!"_

 _But at that moment, Marcus jumped off the chair._

Harvey woke up, covered in sweat and out of breath. He looked over to see Rebecca staring at him with worried eyes.

"It was just a nightmare. It can't hurt you now." She touched the side of his face with her hand.

He scoffed. It may have been just a nightmare but it felt so real.

"Harvey…are you ok?"

He looked at her face and sighed. The worry was evident in her eyes and he managed to paste a fake smile on his face. "I'm fine."

"I call bullshit." She whispered.

"Ok. I'm not fine." He admitted. "But I will be."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Harvey..."

"I would much rather talk about something else…anything else." He interrupted her.

"Ok. Well since you don't want to talk about what is really bothering you, what do you want to talk about?"

He placed his hand back on her stomach. "How about this because it is a much happier topic?"

She gave him a smile and placed her hand over his. "Ok."

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted." She chuckled. "The morning sickness is bad. When it hits, it hits hard."

"I'm sorry." He apologized. "Who else knows about the baby?"

"The doctor and Donna…and Donna only knows because she figured it out when I stopped drinking coffee." She explained.

"You didn't even tell my mom?"

"No. I wanted you to be the first one I told." She replied.

He leaned in and kissed her. "Our lives are never going to be the same again, are they?"

"No." She shook her head.

"We're going from zero kids to three in the blink of an eye." He laughed.

"It's going to be interesting to say the least." She smiled.

"I'm just glad that I'm doing this with you because there is no one else I would want to go through this with than you." He told her.

"I feel the same way." She reached over with her free hand and caressed the side of his face. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Are we going to tell anyone else about the baby yet?" He asked.

"I figured we could tell your mom." She explained. "But I don't really want to start telling everyone until we hit the second trimester."

"Are you worried about it being another ectopic pregnancy?" He asked, knowing her history. Honestly he was a little worried about that.

"No." She shook her head. "The doctor did an ultrasound and it isn't another ectopic pregnancy. I just still don't feel comfortable telling everyone until we are past the first trimester just in case something happens."

"Ok. Good." He nodded. "Then we will tell my mom but no one else."

"Are you ok with that?" She asked.

"I am if that is what you want." Honestly it didn't matter to him when they told their friends about the baby. But if waiting would make her more comfortable, then he would wait.

"It is." She nodded. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for it."

"I kind of feel like I do since you aren't going to like what I say next." She sighed. "I have something I need to run by you."

"That sounds serious." He pointed out, noticing that she looked nervous.

"Well I don't think you are going to like it." She explained. "Your mom is going back to the city tomorrow so she can get her next treatment. I was thinking about going back with her instead of staying longer."

"So you're leaving me?"

"No, not exactly." She shook her head. "I'm going back so I can try to find us a new place to live. I figure the sooner I do that, the sooner you and the kids can leave Boston and we can finally go back to living in the same city again."

He listened to her explain it and it made sense. But he wasn't sure he was ready for her to leave yet. "Ok." He sighed.

"Trust me…" She leaned in and kissed him. "The very last thing I ever want to do is leave you. But I need to be back in New York City to get the rest of the plans settled. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "It doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"I don't like it either." She explained. "But hopefully I can find a place for us to live quickly and then you can help the kids move in."

"It would be nice to live in the same place as you again." He chuckled.

"I agree." She nodded. "I miss waking up next to you every morning."

"I miss that too."

"It won't be too long before we are back in the same city and the same bedroom full-time." She smiled.

"I can't wait." He managed to put a smile on his face.

* * *

Harvey stepped into one of Marcus' restaurants later that day. He had called Colton earlier and arranged for them to meet. It didn't take long for Colton to emerge from the back hallway.

"Hey Harvey." Colton greeted, coming over and shaking hands.

"Thanks for meeting me before the restaurant opens." He said, motioning for them to go sit at the bar.

"No problem." Colton shrugged as they sat down. "Though I am curious about why you wanted to meet."

"I have something I want to run by you." He pulled papers out of his jacket pocket and slid them over, watching as Colton started to read them.

"Wait…you want to sell me both of Marcus' restaurants?"

"I want to sell you half of the interest in the restaurants." He clarified. "So you would own 50% and the other 50% would be split up between his kids. I'm splitting it up into 25% ownership for Ethan and 25% for Olivia, putting it into a trust that I will be executor of for them until they hit the age of 21. But it's all outlined in the papers."

"I don't know…"

"I know that you love these restaurants." Harvey interrupted. "You told me that when I came here after Marcus went into rehab and I believe you. You've done a wonderful job of managing everything through the chaos and you are the only one I trust to carry on the restaurants. This is Marcus's legacy. It's his chance to give something back to his kids once they are old enough. I want it to still be around and I feel like you are the only one who stands a chance of keeping the restaurants going."

"I appreciate the faith you have in me." Colton told him. "But I am worried about Marcus' actions…"

"I have paid the money back and everything will be fine." He assured the man. "You will have control over every day to day decisions. I just ask you consult me before the major decisions, like if you decide to expand or downsize. I'm not going to come in and micromanage everything."

"This is a big decision." Colton sighed. "Can I think about it?"

"Of course." He nodded, getting up. "Take as much time as you need to think it over and give me a call when you have made your decision."

* * *

Later that evening, Rebecca sat outside with Harvey and Lily.

"Ok. What is going on now?" Lily chuckled softly. "We only seem to meet up out here when something is wrong."

"Well tonight something is right and we want to tell you about it." She smiled.

"Good news?" Lily scoffed. "I think I've forgotten what it is like to hear that. So please, tell me."

"Well, mom, the thing is…Rebecca is pregnant." Harvey told her.

"Really?"

Rebecca watched as Lily's eyes got wide and a smile formed on her face. "You mean we finally have something good to celebrate?"

"Yes." She smiled.

"This is wonderful news!" Lily said, getting up to hug her first and then Harvey. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." She replied. "We aren't telling anyone else until I reach the second trimester though so please try to keep it quiet."

"Of course." Lily nodded. "Well this is certainly exciting news!"


	46. Chapter 46

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Six

"And that is the whole place." Rebecca said as she made her way back to the entryway, which was the starting point of the tour. She then turned the camera on the phone back around so she could see Harvey. "What do you think?"

"It's ok." He shrugged.

She sighed. The whole point of Facetiming him was so he could see this place before she made a bid on it. Since he was still in Boston with the kids she was trying to include him on the house search.

She purposely searched for a townhome that was similar in style to his penthouse so he wouldn't feel too out of place. She knew that he loved the look of the modern style and had worked hard to find the perfect place. This was the closest to perfect she could find and she was excited about it.

The basement had the laundry room and a wine cellar. The street-level floor had the entry way leading into a hallway that could take you to the living room, the backyard or the garage. She actually managed to find a townhome that had a one car garage attached to the house. That was a rare find but she thought he would appreciate that since he loved cars so much. The second floor had the kitchen, dining room and a bedroom. She thought that bedroom could be Lily's work studio because it had wonderful light for her painting. The third floor had the master suite. The fourth floor had four bedrooms. And then the roof had a small garden and railed off area that they could put patio furniture on. The place even came with an elevator.

She loved the roof area and imagined going up there on warm summer nights with him to stare at the stars of make out. Or both.

She really thought that she had picked out a good house that they could fill to become a good home. But her excitement was dwindling over his lackluster attitude about it. It had been two days since she left him behind in Boston and she was getting even more worried about him than before. It felt like he was shutting her out even more and she still couldn't get him to talk to her. When she left she felt like they were in a good place. He was happy about the baby and they were talking about things—just not the things that were bothering him because he was still being quiet about that. But she thought things would be alright.

Now most of their conversations ended up in small arguments. A part of her hoped that if she could just get them a bigger place to live, he could come back, then things could fall into a new normal routine and everything would be alright again. But there was another part of her that felt like he was still hiding something from her and she didn't know how to approach him about it.

"It's just ok?" She prodded. "You don't have any other words for it?"

"I don't know. It's a place to live." He sighed. "It looks fine and seems to be big enough for what we need."

"Why don't you just say what you are thinking?" She sighed. "You couldn't care less about this. Were you even paying attention when I walked you through it?"

She knew it was kind of passive aggressive to bait him like that but she was getting tired of making all of the decisions by herself with very little input from him.

"Of course I was paying attention. But to me it's just another place to live. What do you want from me, Rebecca?" He sighed again, shaking his head.

"Apparently something you can't give me right now." She scoffed. "I'm really excited about this place and I thought you would like it. I worked really hard on this and all you can manage to say is 'it's ok.'"

He rolled his eyes. "The only things that matter to me is if we can afford it and if we can move in quickly."

"Fine." She rolled her eyes back at him. "We can afford it and right now the house is vacant so we could move in as soon as we clear escrow. And although you didn't ask, I love this place. It's not too far from the office or where we live right now. The schools around here are also excellent. So I'm going to buy it."

"Good."

"Yeah." She said. "Good."

"Fine."

She wasn't sure what to say anymore so she just stayed quiet for a moment, staring at his face on the phone. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with him again, but somehow almost every conversation had ended in one of these spats.

"Is there anything else? Because I have to go."

"No." She shook her head. Although there was a lot of stuff she wanted to say to him, she stayed quiet. "You can go now."

"We'll talk later." He told her before ending the call.

She put the phone in her back jeans pocket and sighed. That was another thing that had changed in the past couple of days…the whole saying I love you before they ended a call.

She thought that after she told him about the baby and they talked it out things would get better. Apparently she thought wrong though because ever since she left Boston, things rapidly deteriorated. Whatever was bothering him was having ripple effects throughout his attitude about everything.

He kept pulling farther and farther away from her and she wasn't sure how to stop it.

"Hi." She greeted as Lori came down the staircase.

"Hey, did you finish showing your husband the place?" Lori asked.

"Yes, and we want this place. I'm ready to make a bid right now."

"Wonderful!" Lori smiled. "Let's go into the kitchen and get the paperwork started."

* * *

Harvey threw his phone off to the side of the couch and sighed. He felt bad about his reaction to the place Rebecca showed him. But if he was honest, he didn't really care where they lived at this point. He trusted her to pick a good place and knew she was on top of things. From the looks of it, she did a good job choosing, though he realized he probably should have told her that on the phone.

He was just distracted. The kids went back to school yesterday and since then he had been going over to Marcus' house and packing it up while they were at school. He was trying to get the house ready to be sold and also trying to get the rest of the kids' stuff packed up so it would make the move to New York City easier. But it was not fun at all. In fact, it was slightly creepy to be going through the things of two people that were dead.

Everywhere he looked around that house he saw things that belonged to Marcus and Katie. He saw pictures that showed when the two of them were happier and he could imagine the two of them going around the house doing mundane things like laundry or dishes. He remembered the times that they all spent together in this house when he and Rebecca would come and visit. He remembered seeing Katie and Rebecca talking and giggling. He remembered watching sports with Marcus and giving each other a hard time about who was losing. But that wouldn't happen anymore now that they were both dead.

This house would soon belong to another family and they would be making their own memories here.

If he wanted to be completely honest with himself, he never fully dealt with Katie's death. He simply pushed it down and compartmentalized it until he found a way to go on. Now with Marcus also being dead, and the manner of his death, he found himself drowning in a sea of grief, guilt and sadness. While he wanted to reach out to Rebecca, pull her close to him and hold on for dear life, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

She was also grieving and she had too much on her plate right now. She was spearheading the kids' move, handling everything at work, trying to make sure that his mom was doing well after her treatments, and now with the pregnancy…he didn't want to put any more stress on her.

Plus he was starting to feel like he didn't deserve her. She had her faults, like everyone does, but he knew how lucky he was to have her in her life. She didn't deserve the way he was shutting her out of his life. But he wasn't sure how to let her in.

He was able to sleep now, though it was a double-edged sword because he was having nightmares. Marcus visited him at least twice every night and every dream ended with Marcus killing himself in front of him. It was exhausting but he pushed on.

And ever since the dream where dream Marcus mentioned Specter men being doomed to end up alone, he started to wonder if there was any truth to that.

He felt bad about not being more excited about the house she found for them. But nothing really made him happy right now.

* * *

Rebecca pulled the phone from her back pocket a few hours later and smiled as she accepted the Facetime. "Hey Ethan."

"Aunt Becca, I got your email. Are we really moving in there?" He asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I just put in a bid for the place. We could be moving in within a week if everything moves as quickly as the real estate agent thinks. Why? Did you hate it?"

"No." He shook his head. "I don't hate it. I think it looks cool. It's just big."

"It just seems big because there are so many floors, but that is how they make townhomes in New York City. Everything is built up instead of out."

"It has an elevator." He laughed.

"I know." She smirked. "Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome." The smile on his face turned into a frown.

"You're going to miss Boston though, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"I know and I'm sorry." She apologized. "If there was any way Harvey and I could move down there we would, but…"

"I understand." He interrupted. "I'm just going to miss this place and my friends."

"I know." She nodded again. "I think you are going to like the school I'm signing you up for though. And I'm really excited to show you the libraries up here. I think you'll like them."

"That would be cool." He smiled. "I'd like that."

"So how are you doing?"

"Ok I guess." He shrugged. "My teachers are being really weird around me—giving me smiles and telling me that my homework can be late if I need it to be. I don't want the special treatment though."

"They are just worried about you though and they want to try and make things easier for you." She explained.

"I know, but it's annoying in some ways." He shrugged. "They don't really know what I'm going through. I wanted to go to school to escape everything for a few hours, but when they mention it all the time it defeats the purpose."

"I can understand where you are coming from." She told him. "How is Olivia?"

"She's good. I don't think she fully understands what is happening."

"Can you show her the pictures of the house later? I'd like to get her opinion too."

"Sure." He nodded.

"How is Uncle Harvey?" She hated having to use Ethan as a spy on her husband. But she hoped that maybe Ethan could give her a little more insight into Harvey's behavior.

"He's very quiet." He pointed out. "I don't think he is very happy. He said he has been spending a lot of time at our old house, packing things up. I think that is making his mood worse."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I bet it is making things worse."

"Are you coming up this weekend?"

To be honest, she wasn't planning on it since she was there two days ago. It was Friday evening and by this time she was usually already in Boston or on her way. She looked at Ethan's face, seeing the hope. Harvey hadn't asked her to come up this weekend and she wondered if he even cared. Seeing that Ethan wanted her to visit, she gave him a small smile. She didn't feel like she could say no to him at this point without feeling guilty.

"I will be leaving first thing in the morning so I'll be there tomorrow sometime before noon." She was exhausted and didn't really want to go back to Boston so soon. But something told her that she needed to go up there. Maybe she could get Harvey to talk to her, though she doubted it.

"Really?" Ethan's face broke out into a smile.

"Really." She couldn't help but smile back.

"That's great news!"

Seeing his reaction was worth it. "I don't think Uncle Harvey knows I'm coming up though. Let's keep it between us so I can surprise him."

"Deal." He nodded.

"Ok. I need to get some work done tonight so I kind of need to get off the phone." She also now had to make a last minute flight reservation for Boston. The good news was that she had racked up a lot of frequent flier miles. At some point, she and Harvey could go on a trip for free…if they made it through this.

She hated thinking that way. But things between them were strained at best and she wasn't sure how to fix things.

"Ok." He nodded. "Goodnight Aunt Becca."

"Goodnight Ethan." She pushed the end button and sighed. Looking over, she saw Lily enter the living room. "I thought you were going to bed early tonight."

"I tried, but I couldn't sleep." Lily shook her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"No, it's ok."

"So it looks like I'm going back up to Boston tomorrow morning."

"Why?" Lily asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No." She assured her. "I just got off the phone with Ethan. He asked if I was coming up for the weekend and I found it impossible to say no to him."

Lily laughed. "Just be careful not to let him know that he has you wrapped around his finger or he will exploit it."

"I'll do my best." She laughed.

"Are you sure you aren't overdoing things?" Lily asked. "You've been putting in long hours at work the last two days, as well as checking out half a dozen different places to live. Now you're flying off to Boston?"

"I'll be fine." She nodded. "Really."

"Ok."

She could tell that Lily wasn't convinced and she appreciated that she was concerned. Last night she had told her about her first pregnancy and how it ended in miscarriage. It felt good to tell Lily about it because she was incredibly supportive. Having this time with her had been great, though she felt guilty for having so much time with her while Harvey didn't get the same chance. But he would be back full-time soon and then he would have the same opportunity.

"I should make my reservation for tomorrow morning." She opened the app on her phone and started to type. By this point, she was able to book a flight on the app in less than a minute. God knows she had been doing it enough lately.


	47. Chapter 47

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Seven

Rebecca came to a stop at the red light in her rental car and released a deep sigh. She got up early this morning to get on a plane to Boston and she was already tired. Taking a look at the clock on the rental car, she saw that it was only 9:46 am. At least she was going to keep her word to Ethan. She was going to be there before noon just like she promised. She was only a few minutes away from the house. As the light turned green, she thought about what Harvey's reaction might be about her sudden appearance.

She knew what she hoped his reaction would be. She hoped he would be thrilled to see her and she hoped they would be able to fix the issues they seemed to be having. But she wasn't naïve. She realized that surprising him wasn't going to magically solve all of their problems. Maybe it could help a little though.

She pulled into the driveway and hesitated for a moment before getting out of the car. She hoped that he wouldn't be upset at her sudden appearance. But she had to be prepared for him to be angry at her coming. She got out of the car and took her bag with her as she went to the front door. She used the key she had and let herself in.

It was quiet inside and she set her bag down by the door. Then she went into the living room and found Olivia watching TV. "Hey."

Olivia looked over and smiled. "Aunt Becca!" She got up from the couch and ran over to give her a hug. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"It was a surprise." She smiled, hugging Olivia back. Then she pulled away and knelt down to her level. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good." Olivia replied. "Ethan showed me the pictures of the new house. It looks so cool. I've already figured out what one I want for my bedroom and I know exactly how I want to decorate it!"

"I'm glad you like the new place and I would love to hear all about how you want to decorate it. But first I have to go find Uncle Harvey." She smiled. "Do you know where he is?"

"I think he is in the kitchen."

"Thanks."

"Will you also play a game with me later?" Olivia asked.

"Absolutely! Just name the game and I'll be happy to play it with you." She promised, giving the girl one more hug before heading into the kitchen. She went in and saw Harvey sitting at the island drinking coffee. He was just staring out into space and she wondered what he was thinking about. "I really miss your coffee. I wish I could have some right now."

He looked over at her and she could see the confusion on his face.

"I wasn't expecting you. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I thought I would surprise you." She laughed.

"It definitely is a surprise."

"Good surprise or bad surprise?"

"You have to ask?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. I kind of do at this point." She admitted, sitting next to him at the counter.

He sighed in a way that he didn't used to sigh at her. It was the same kind of sigh he used when Louis would come in and annoy him. She tried not to read too much into it because it was just a sigh, aware that she could be overthinking things.

"It's always a good surprise."

She leaned in and kissed him. He pulled away a little too quickly, which left her disappointed.

"Would you like some tea?" He offered, getting up and already heading to where the tea was.

"Sure." She nodded, watching him move around the kitchen to make her tea. She wasn't sure what to say anymore so she stayed quiet. After a few minutes he placed the cup in front of her. "Thank you." She gave him a small smile.

"Is there something wrong though?" He asked. "I didn't think you would come back so soon. You were just here a couple of days ago."

"Ethan asked me last night if I was going to come up for the weekend." She explained. "I wasn't sure how to say no, so here I am."

"That must be why he was happier this morning." He pointed out. "I think you are his favorite."

"I don't know about that." She shook her head. "I think it's more like I understand what it is like to lose both your parents. Besides, if we are talking about favorites, Olivia seems to like you a little more."

"It is certainly possible." He smirked.

She was going to say something else when Ethan came in to the kitchen. "Hey!"

"Aunt Becca!" Ethan rushed over and gave her a hug.

"So since you are here and can watch the kids, I think I'm going to go back over to the house for a bit and continue packing." Harvey said, standing up.

She looked over at her husband and frowned. Part of the reason she came was also to spend time with him. Now he just wanted to leave.

"I'll be back later." He told them, turning to leave.

She sighed, watching him leave the kitchen. Then she turned to Ethan. "Excuse me for a moment." She hurried after Harvey, finding him outside. "Harvey!"

"Yeah?" He turned to face her.

"Why are you leaving?" She asked. "I thought that we could spend some time together."

"There is a lot of stuff that needs to be done at Marcus' house." He explained.

"I know. But there is a lot of stuff to that needs to be done here too." She argued.

"Rebecca…"

"Why are you avoiding me?" She asked.

"I'm not…"

"Yes you are!" She scoffed. "Ever since Marcus died you have been looking for ways to avoid me. You've been distant and dismissive."

"I've just had a lot on my mind."

"And I haven't? Both of our lives have been turned upside down!"

"Look, we can talk about this later." He sighed.

"No, Harvey…we need to talk about this now. Stop avoiding things." She didn't want to be so confrontational, but at this point she didn't feel like she had a choice.

"No, we'll talk about it later and that's final." He insisted, turning his back to her and getting in the car.

She crossed her arms over her chest, watching him drive away. She had a feeling that when they talked about things tonight it was going to end in an argument. But maybe that was what had to happen in order for them to move forward. She turned around to go back inside and saw Ethan standing in the doorway.

"How long were you standing there?" She asked nervously, hoping he hadn't seen that whole exchange.

"Long enough to know you and Uncle Harvey are fighting and it seems serious." Ethan replied before going back inside.

She released a heavy sigh. She didn't want Ethan to know that she and Harvey were having problems and felt bad that now he was aware of it.

* * *

Harvey sat in the driveway, willing himself to go inside. He knew that Rebecca was angry because he went to Marcus's house instead of spending time with her and the kids. And she would be even more upset that he stayed away all day. It was dark now and he knew the kids would be in bed already. He somehow knew that Rebecca wouldn't be asleep yet though.

But that wasn't the only reason she was mad. He could tell that she was getting frustrated with him because he was avoiding her. She was right about that. It didn't start off as something he did on purpose. But being around her was painful because he had to constantly keep secrets from her.

He couldn't tell her everything about Marcus. He was too embarrassed and ashamed. The Marcus from his dreams kept telling him that Rebecca wouldn't understand what happened, she would blame him for Marcus' death and then he would end up alone. While he wanted to believe it was simply his imagination working overtime, he couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to understand and if dream Marcus was right. Maybe the Specter men were doomed to be alone. Maybe he just needed to stop fighting it.

Either way, he knew he needed to go inside. They were going to have to have a talk. He wanted to tell her everything, but he was scared. He sighed as he got out of the car and entered the house. He didn't find her in the living room or the kitchen but saw that the back door was open so he figured she was outside. Sure enough, she was sitting on the back step with her back towards him.

"Hey." He said, sitting down next to her.

"You're finally back." She sighed.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"You were gone all day."

"I know."

"You didn't check in or let me know when you would be home." She stated.

"No, I didn't." He admitted. He probably should have though. It wasn't fair of him not to. "I'm sorry."

"There are leftovers in the fridge if you are hungry. I made your favorite because I thought you would be home for dinner." She said, standing up and turning to finally look at him.

"Ok." He nodded, feeling extra guilty about not coming back sooner. "Thanks."

"Our real estate agent called. She said that escrow will be closing on Tuesday. I'll need you to come down to sign the papers while the kids are in school."

He sighed. "Do I really have to?"

"Yeah, you really have to." She scoffed. "You know, I haven't asked you for much about this…I didn't ask you to go through the tons of real estate that has flooded the market to find a place for us to live. I didn't ask you to go look at all of the places to see how they measured up to their pictures. I didn't ask you to figure out where the best place for us to live would be so the kids would have good schools to go to. All I asked is that you take a look at the one I wanted to buy and to come sign some papers so we can have a new home. I realize that spending several hours in an airport while the kids are at school to sign papers is annoying and inconvenient, but there's no other way around it if we want to be able to move in next weekend."

She started to walk up the stairs. He assumed she was going inside so he jumped up and beat her to the door, blocking it. "I'm sorry. I'll be there on Tuesday. I'll sign whatever papers you need me to sign and I'll do it without an attitude." He apologized. "What's this about next weekend though?"

"Since the place is already vacant, we can move in next weekend." She told him, shaking her head and walking away from him, going down the stairs and moving deeper into the backyard. "I told you that yesterday."

"I must have forgotten. That soon? Really?" He asked, walking closer to her. He stopped when they were only a couple of feet apart.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Is that a problem? I thought you would want to come back as soon as possible."

She paused and he saw that she was staring intently at his face.

"It is a problem because the truth is you don't really want to come back, do you?"

"What do you mean?" He asked. "Of course I want to come back."

"Ok. Sure you do." She shrugged.

"No, don't ok me and then ignore what you said." He argued as he noticed there was thunder rolling in the distance. He felt it was appropriate since there was a storm brewing in this backyard too. "What did you mean by that?"

She sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Yet you did." He pointed out. "So let's get it out in the open."

"Fine. It feels like you don't care about coming back. It feels like you don't care about anything…or anyone anymore."

"That's not fair." He scoffed.

"I don't think you really want to get into an argument with me about what's fair right now." She scoffed.

He was about to say something when it started to rain. It was slow at first, but then it came down in sheets, surrounding them.

"I've been busting my ass off since Marcus' death to try and make sure that everything is running smoothly—I organized his memorial service, I made sure the kids were taken care of emotionally, I've been finding us a house, finding the kids a new school, arranging for after-school care for them…all while working and trying to take care of both my clients and yours. I've been trying to be strong for your mom and I've been trying to be strong for you. And I've been doing it while wanting to throw up most of the time because I have horrible morning sickness that lasts all day long. But I don't get any help or support from you."

She paused for a moment. "And I know that you are taking care of the kids here and you are trying to get Marcus' stuff taken care of. I know you are doing your own things here and I'm glad that you are taking care of those things. They are important tasks that have to be done. But you're completely detached from me and everyone else who loves you. When was the last time you called your mom?"

"It's been a couple of days." He admitted.

"She misses talking to you but she'll never say it because she doesn't want to upset the tentative relationship you have right now. Did you know she is freaking out because the test results from the study aren't showing significant progress yet?"

"I didn't realize." He had been avoiding his mom because of his guilt, but that wasn't right either. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because it's not my place to." She sighed. "You should be calling your mom and talking to her. Certainly you have to be able to realize that the way you are avoiding things is not healthy. You can't be that dense to not see how far apart we are from each other right now."

"There is a slight distance between us." He acknowledged.

"There's more than a slight distance! It feels like a canyon is forming between us and it feels like you don't even care." She argued. "I just wish you would let me in on what you're going through."

"I can't." He shook his head.

"Then I don't know how to keep doing this." She cried out. "I can't keep trying to push you to tell me what's going on and having you shut me down every damn time. I just can't! I know something major is going on with you and it absolutely kills me that you won't just tell me so that I can help you with it! I see what it is doing to you. I see the toll it's taking on you and I'm worried about you."

"I can't tell you Rebecca!" He yelled back.

"You mean you won't." She shook her head.

"No. I won't." He told her honestly. "I've got to work through this myself."

"And what am I supposed to do in the meantime while you work through it?" She scoffed.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I know this isn't a fair situation and I'm sorry. I just…I have a lot of stuff swirling around inside my head that I need to figure out how to deal with."

"Fine." She shrugged, pushing past him.

He grabbed on to her arm as she passed him. "Rebecca…"

"What, Harvey?" She sighed.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"Sometimes sorry isn't enough if nothing changes after you say it." She told him, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "Harvey…I love you more than you could ever know and I'll listen to anything you want to talk about any time…day or night—if you ever decide to let me in. But I can't keep feeling like I'm hitting my head up against a brick wall. I know you are in pain and I know you'd feel better if you share what you're going through. But you don't realize it and I can't do anything about that. So I'm going to give you some space. I'm going to go back to the city tomorrow morning."

"You're leaving me?"

"I'm not leaving you. I'm leaving Boston. There is a difference." She nodded her head. "I spent some good quality time with the kids today while you were gone and it's not like you really need me here for anything anyway."

He let go of her arm like he had somehow been physically burned by her words and watched as she got out of the rain.

Contrary to her belief, he did need her here.


	48. Chapter 48

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Harvey should be here any minute." Rebecca told Lori as they sat in her office on Tuesday. "He is coming in from Boston so the plane was probably late or something."

"That's fine." Lori smiled at her. "If you'd like, we can get started with your signatures first."

She looked at her watch. He was already almost a half hour late and she wondered if he was even coming. They weren't talking much since she left on Sunday morning. The conversations they had were tense and awkward.

She hated leaving things like that, but she wasn't sure what else she could do. It really was killing her to watch him isolate himself from everyone. If it was just her, she would endure it and badger him until he finally broke down and confided in her. But it wasn't just her anymore. She had to take care of Lily, Ethan and Rebecca. Then there was also the precious baby inside her right now. She felt like she was being selfish putting her own health ahead of Harvey's feelings, but at the same time she had to take care of herself—if not for everyone else's sake then at least for the baby's sake.

"Ok." She finally agreed. "Let's get started."

Lori smiled and pushed the paperwork towards her.

"Sorry I'm late." Harvey said, entered the office. "Traffic from the airport was ridiculous."

"It's fine." Lori said. "You must be Harvey."

"I am." He nodded.

"I'm Lori Pierle. I've been working with your wife to find your new home. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." He smiled at her.

She watched as they shook hands before Harvey sat down in the chair next to her.

"Let's get started." Lori smiled.

* * *

A half hour later, Harvey followed Rebecca down the hallway towards the elevator, pressing the down button and silently standing next to her. He hated that there was so much traffic after he landed. It was maddening to him because he had wanted to be on time for the signing.

After entering the room, he couldn't help but steal glances at Rebecca. They hadn't been talking much since she left Sunday morning and he missed her. She looked a little tired, but even tired she was still the most gorgeous woman in the world to him.

At first he was hurt by the fact that she was leaving before the weekend was over. He was also a little anger at her rant in the backyard. But then he realized she was right. She was doing all of the heavy lifting in this relationship. He always said they were a team but he was letting her do more than her fair share of the work.

He could understand how she could get so mad. Pair that with the fact that he wasn't talking to her about Marcus and he should have expected her blow-up. She had every right to be angry with him.

"Thanks for coming to sign the papers. I know it was a long commute just to do that." She told him as they got onto the elevator.

"You're welcome." He nodded, looking over at her. "Like you said a couple of days ago, it's the least I can do."

"Harvey, I…"

"So I forgot to ask…" He interrupted her, not wanting to get too deep into their problems right now. "What are we doing about the penthouse?"

She looked at him like she was crazy. "What do you mean?"

"Well we are selling it, right?" He chuckled. "So is it on the market yet or were you waiting until after we officially move in before listing it?"

"Actually I haven't put it up on the market yet and I didn't think we would for a while."

"Why the hell not?" He realized that came out a little too harshly and cringed.

"We don't need to sell it to buy this place." She pointed out. "And to be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready to sell it yet."

"Why not?" He pushed. "It's just a penthouse."

"Maybe it is just a penthouse to you and you don't care about the place that we've called home." She rolled her eyes.

"Rebecca…that's not exactly what I meant…"

"To me, it's a special place. It's where we spent our first night together. It's where we got married. It's filled with so many happy memories of our life together. So sue me for not wanting to let it go yet." She explained, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I get that, but selling the place doesn't mean we sell our memories." He pointed out.

"I'm not putting it on the market yet. I'm not ready to let it go." She told him as the elevator dinged to let them know they finally reached the lobby.

"Alright." He nodded, getting out of the elevator. He could tell when he was fighting a lost cause.

"Do you have time to stay for a cup of coffee or something?" She asked. "Maybe we could go take a look at our new home?"

He looked at his watch and shook his head. "If I do that, I'll miss my flight and then I won't be back before the kids get out of school."

"Ok." She nodded.

He saw the disappointed look on her face and gave her a small smile. "If it wasn't for that, I would come to the house and see it with you."

"Sure." She nodded again as they left the building. "Can you make sure to let me know if the kids are bringing any of their furniture with them? I'm going furniture shopping tomorrow and I need to know if that includes their rooms too."

"I can do that."

"Thank you."

He saw Ray was waiting for her since they texted him before they left Lori's office.

"Why don't you have Ray take you to the airport?" She suggested. "I can get a cab."

"No it's fine. I don't want to make you take a cab." He shook his head.

"I don't mind." She shrugged. "Besides, you haven't gotten to see Ray for a while and I know for a fact that he knows the best route to get you to the airport on time. You can't always trust a random cab driver to know that."

He had to admit she was right about that and grinned. "Ok. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye."

"Bye." She smiled.

He got in the car and watched her as they drove away. The smile that was on her face faded when she thought he wasn't looking. He turned his attention to Ray once he couldn't see her in the window anymore. "Hey Ray, can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Ray smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"How has Rebecca been lately?" He felt bad about using Ray to spy on Rebecca, but it was a good opportunity to find out information about her well-being from an impartial third party.

"She…well she's been stressed." Ray answered. "I can see it written all over her face."

"Is she working a lot of late nights?"

"Yes." Ray nodded. "There are a lot of late nights and then early mornings. It seems like she is constantly running around to different places. And if you don't mind me saying so, I think she is putting up a pretty good front, but I don't believe she is happy right now."

"I agree with you. I don't think she is very happy either." He hated to know that she was working so hard. She shouldn't have to carry all of the burden of taking care of things and he felt guilty that she was in charge of so many things while also trying to be pregnant. Although the risk of an ectopic pregnancy was something they didn't have to worry about, he wondered if she was still worried about having a miscarriage. He was worried about that.

Maybe the best thing about moving back here this weekend would be that he could take the work burden off of her. If he took over at work then that would free up some of her time and maybe she would be able to relax a bit more. Plus it would give him something to focus on that wasn't family-based.

He hated being the reason she was unhappy. Every day he fought an internal battle between telling her what he was going through and keeping it from her. Every time he thought he was ready to tell her everything, he would have a dream where Marcus would point out why it was a bad idea. As stupid as it was to listen to a dream, he couldn't help but admit that dream Marcus made sense about certain things.

Still, it hurt to see Rebecca sad and he was conflicted.

"How have you been?" Ray asked after a few minutes.

"I've been better." He admitted.

"Rebecca told me all about your brother and the hard time you've been having." Ray said softly. "I'm very sorry to hear about it. All sudden deaths are terrible to deal with. When it is an intentional death, it can become even more difficult for those left behind to deal with properly."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

"Yes. My best friend growing up. He killed himself when he turned eighteen."

"I'm sorry to hear that." And he truly was. He didn't think of Ray as just an employee. After all of these years he thought of him as a part of his extended family.

"I wish I could tell you that the thoughts you are probably having will go away." Ray pointed out. "But they don't. They just get quieter and quieter until you can tune them out."

"What thoughts would that be?" He asked out curiosity.

"Thoughts that you should have been able to stop it from happening." Ray explained. "I could be wrong and if I'm overstepping my bounds here, please stop me. But I know there were plenty of times I wondered if I could have said or done something to help him before he got to the point where he felt like taking his own life was his only option. The truth of the matter is though if a person truly wants to kill themselves, they will do it. And they will not listen to anyone."

"I'll keep that in mind." He nodded. He was starting to wonder if Rebecca suggested he take the car to the airport on purpose so that she could have Ray talk to him. He certainly wouldn't put it past her. She was clever enough to plot something like that and couldn't help but chuckle at that thought.

* * *

"So I know you saw the pictures and the video I took, but what do you think once you see it in person?" Rebecca asked Lily as they finished their tour in the kitchen.

"I love it." Lily smiled. "I think you did a great job."

"Thank you." She smiled. "Do you think the kids will like it? I know they liked the pictures, but…"

"I think they will love it."

"Oh, that reminds me. I'm going furniture shopping tomorrow. Did you want to bring anything from your house up here when we move the kids or do you want some of the new furniture?"

"I don't think we should bother with bringing any of my furniture up here considering we don't know how long I'll be around." Lily reminded her.

She frowned. "You know the doctor said you can't put any stock into the test results yet."

"But they showed very little change." Lily pointed out.

"Exactly." She chuckled. "The doctor said it himself. If the medication wasn't working, you would be getting much worse by now. But there isn't much of a change at all. I think that means the treatment is working."

"Maybe." Lily relented.

"Besides, the doctor said they don't really have a good grasp of how the treatment is progressing until the four month mark and you haven't reached that point yet. But when you do, we will know that the treatment is working."

"We will know if the treatment is working." Lily corrected her.

"It will." She smirked.

"You don't know that for certain." Lily pointed out. "The way things are going for this family, I wouldn't be surprised if the treatment doesn't work and I'm dead in three months."

"It will work. It has to because you have to be able to meet your newest grandchild." She smiled.

Lily laughed. "I love how positive you are about this."

"Well someone has to be." She pointed out. "So do you want us to bring any of your furniture down or do you want new?'

"To be completely honest, it doesn't matter much to me." Lily shrugged.

"Ok. New furniture it is!" She chuckled.

* * *

Harvey unlocked the door to Marcus' house that night and let the kids inside. It was the first time they had been back since Katie's death. He brought them back because he was in the process of getting the house ready to be put on the market. He thought he would split the profits of the house and put half in each of the kids' trusts so they would have some money to help them achieve their dreams.

He knew that he would personally put them through college without making them take out any loans. Education was important and the least he could do was pay for it. The money from the house and a quarter of the restaurants was Marcus' legacy to them. It was something that they could look at and say they had because of their parents and they could do whatever they wanted with that money.

Since they closed on the house back home and would be moving this weekend, he figured this was as good of a time as any to let them choose what they wanted to bring with them to New York City. Besides, this was a good way for him to find out if they were taking furniture with them so that he could tell Rebecca before she went shopping.

Olivia was excited about being back in the house again and immediately went running up the stairs. He assumed she was going to her room. He looked over at Ethan, who was more subdued about the experience.

"Don't you want to look around?" He asked his nephew.

"Why?" Ethan shrugged. "I know what the place look like. I doubt it has changed."

"I know, but this is probably the last time you'll see it. I'm putting the house up for sale soon." He explained.

"That's fine with me." Ethan nodded. "It's just a house."

"Aunt Becca wanted to know if you and Olivia were bringing any furniture with you from this house. Maybe you're bed or anything like that?"

"I'd like to take my bookcases. Although I think I need more now because I have more books." He said.

"I'm sure we can get you more bookcases, but if you want the ones from your room here we can definitely take those." He told his nephew, glad to see a smile form.

"Thanks." Ethan nodded.

"You're welcome. You sure you don't want to look around? Maybe for old times' sake?"

"I guess I'll look around." Ethan relented.

Ethan had been acting weird towards him lately and he wasn't sure why. He was more standoffish but wouldn't say if anything was wrong though.

He went off in search of Olivia, finding her in Marcus and Katie's room. "Hey. What are you doing?"

"I was never allowed in here by myself." Olivia said. "Does that rule still apply?"

He chuckled at the look of panic on his niece's face. "No. I think you're safe."

"Oh good!" She sighed. "I was worried I would get punished."

"So what are you doing in here?" He was curious now.

"I'm just looking around." She explained, walking around the room. "I don't know why they didn't want me in here. It's just a bedroom and it looks boring."

"Grownups have to have their own space so they can do grown up things." He explained, not wanting to go into much detail.

"Oh." She nodded. "Ok."

He was lucky that she didn't press him for more information on that and considered it a freebie. "You know, Aunt Becca wanted me to ask you if there was any furniture in your room that you wanted to take with you to the new house in New York City."

"Oh I definitely have to take my princess bed!" Her eyes lit up. "Are we taking all of my toys and clothes?"

"Yes, we're taking all of that. And I'll make sure we get your princess bed too."

"Thank you Uncle Harvey!" She ran over and gave his leg a big hug.

"You're welcome." He said, smiling down at her. At least one of the kids still liked him.


	49. Chapter 49

Skyfall

Chapter Forty-Nine

"So what are we looking for today?" Donna asked as they entered the furniture showroom.

"Well we need furniture for almost every single room of the house." Rebecca laughed. "I mean we can take the furniture from the penthouse with us, but the new place is much bigger and I don't want it to be empty when the kids move in this weekend. I want it to be as full as possible for them."

"Well it will take a while to get everything fully decorated." Donna pointed out.

"I know." She nodded. "I just want to get the basics taken care of, like couches, chairs, tables and beds. Everything else can done later. But those are the priority."

"Then let's get shopping!" Donna grinned.

* * *

Harvey entered the restaurant and saw Colton standing behind the bar. He walked over to the bar. "Hey. You wanted to talk?"

"I did." Colton nodded, sliding papers towards him. "I wanted to let you know that I thought about your offer and I'm accepting it."

"That's great." He smiled, taking the papers. "I think you are going to be able to do some great things with these restaurants.

"I hope so." Colton laughed nervously. "It means a lot that you trust me with your brothers' dream."

"Marcus had a lot of faults, but he was good at this." Harvey said, looking around. "He obviously knew what he was doing since he was able to open a second location when most restaurants end up failing. I have no doubt you are going to be capable of continuing the success he started."

"Thank you." Colton smiled. "And I have to say, Marcus was lucky to have a brother like you. He never shut up about how great you were and how you were always there for him. I mean even now you are stepping up to help make sure that his dream of the restaurants stays alive. And you are taking on the responsibility of raising his kids for him. I wish I had a sibling that cared about me that much. But I doubt my sister would even care if something happened to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said. "But I don't think I'm as good of a brother as you think. Sometimes I said things to Marcus that weren't so nice."

"Actions speak louder than words, Harvey." Colton pointed out.

He knew he had to change the subject so he pulled a business card from his pocket. "We are moving the kids to New York City this weekend, so I won't be around as much. This way you have more options on how to reach me if there is ever any problem that arises or you want my opinion on something."

"Thanks." Colton said as he took the card. "So you are finally getting to go back home?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"You must be really excited to be reunited with your wife."

"Yep." He nodded. While he was happy about going back to New York City, he wasn't sure he would say he was excited. And he wasn't sure Rebecca was excited about him coming back either.

* * *

She sat down at a table by the window with Donna after grabbing her tea. "Well that was exhausting. I didn't think it would take five hours to pick out furniture."

"That's because you've never had to buy this much furniture before." Donna pointed out. "I think we did pretty well considering, and we were able to get a good deal on everything."

She laughed. "We only got a good deal because you flirted shamelessly with the salesman. You know he is expecting to go out with you, right?"

"I know." Donna smirked. "That's why I gave him a fake phone number."

"Now I don't think I can ever buy furniture there again." She laughed.

"You know it is nice to see you smile and laugh again."

"It's nice to smile and laugh for once." She chuckled.

"You haven't been doing that much lately."

"I know." She admitted. "There hasn't been much to smile and laugh about lately."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Donna asked softly.

"No. I'm fine." She shrugged.

"I don't buy that for a second." Donna chuckled softly. "Is it Marcus' death?"

"It's a lot of things." She explained, realizing that she had to explain it to Donna or else her friend would never let this go. "I'm trying to come to terms with Marcus' death on my own and for the most part the process is going alright."

"Well Harvey is helping you with that, right?"

She had to stop herself from laughing at Donna. Instead she simply shook her head. "No. He isn't. Actually we are having a lot of problems right now."

"Problems? What do you mean?" Donna scoffed. "You guys are rock solid."

"We used to be rock solid." She informed her friend. "Now we are like a rock slide and I can't seem to do anything to stop from falling."

"What's going on between you two?"

"He's taking Marcus' death really hard and he is shutting everyone out, especially me. I thought after I told him about the baby things would get better. Like somehow he would realize he has to step up and work as a team with me. But he's retreating farther and farther away from me every day." She explained.

"We aren't talking much, and when we do it usually ends up in some kind of petty argument or someone being mad at the other person. We haven't said I love you to each other in about a week. We haven't slept together in about three weeks. And I don't know what to do anymore. He's coming back this weekend for good, and I don't know whether to be excited about it or dread it at this point."

"I'm sorry." Donna apologized, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand. "I didn't know things were getting so bad. I thought things were fine because you said he was happy about the baby after he had his little freak out moment. Why didn't you say something?"

"I thought things were fine after I told him about the baby." She explained. "But then a couple of days later it all went to hell. I've been trying to keep it quiet because…hell I don't know why anymore. I just haven't wanted to talk about it with everyone. But honestly, I feel like I am losing him."

"You aren't!" Donna assured her. "Harvey loves you so much and you know that. This is just a bump in the road.

"It's a pretty big bump." She corrected her friend.

"But it's still just a bump. Everything will be alright between you two."

"How do you know?"

"Because I have faith." Donna smiled. "And I'm Donna. I know everything."

She couldn't help but laugh at that explanation.

"Seriously though, have you been keeping this all bottled up inside? Are you talking about it with anyone?"

"No." She shook her head. "Lily knows things between Harvey and I are tense, but she has no idea to what extent. Ethan unfortunately overheard us arguing so he knows something is wrong. But no one except you knows the whole story. And I'd like to keep it that way."

"Alright. You don't have to worry about me telling anyone." Donna nodded. "But I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me about anything. Because you can. I know I was Harvey's friend first, but I'm your friend too and I'm here for you."

"I appreciate that." She smiled.

"So level with me…on a scale from 1 to 10, how bad are things?"

"9.5." She sighed. "I just can't get to him. I know he is having difficulty dealing with Marcus' death and all of the fallout from it. But he won't talk to me and I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what to say to him anymore. It feels like he doesn't even want to be around me anymore."

"I'm certain that's not true." Donna corrected her.

She chuckled. "Well I guess you can see for yourself on Monday when he comes back to work."

"I know this is a rough time for you." Donna started to say. "Are you making sure that you are taking care of yourself though?"

"I'm doing the very best that I can." She told her friend. "Trust me, the last thing I want to do is end up losing this baby."

"How is the morning sickness going?"

"It's all day long." She scoffed. "But I guess it could be worse. I'd rather be pregnant and have to deal with morning sickness than the alternative."

"That's a good way to look at it." Donna smiled.

She sighed. "Ok, let's talk about something that's not filled with so much drama. Like how you and Charles are doing…"

Donna smiled. "We are doing well…"

* * *

"Hey." Harvey greeted after Rebecca picked up the phone for their Facetime.

"Hey." She greeted back. "So I got a lot of the furniture ordered today. Donna was a big help. Everything should be delivered Friday night."

"Good. I have the movers coming to pack everything up on Friday night. So the truck should be there sometime Saturday morning."

"Good." She nodded. "When are you and the kids going to be here?"

"We fly in Saturday morning."

"Ok."

"I'm glad we have that situated." He told her.

"Me too." She nodded.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. He wanted to say so many things to her, but wasn't sure how to start. So he stayed quiet.

"I should probably go." She told him. "I'm exhausted right now."

"Ok." He was about to ask how she was doing besides that and ask how the morning sickness was because it had been a couple of days since he had asked about her wellbeing. But she didn't give him a chance.

"Goodnight Harvey." She said, hitting the end button right after finishing her statement.

He stared at the now black screen of his phone and sighed.


	50. Chapter 50

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty

"Hey." Rebecca greeted, walking into the kitchen Sunday morning. She noticed that Harvey was making breakfast. He and the kids had arrived yesterday and it was still strange getting used to having everyone under the same roof in a place other than Lily's house. Their first night together in the new house had gone well though.

"Morning." He greeted, not turning around to look over at her.

"Did you ever come up to bed?" She asked. "It seemed like your side of the bed was still untouched this morning."

"No." He shook his head. "I'm not sleeping well anymore so I thought I would just sleep in the guest room from now on so you can get the sleep you need. I know you are exhausted because of everything you are doing and also the baby, so I don't want to risk waking you up."

"I appreciate that. It's sweet." She said with a small smile as she walked over to him. "But I thought part of the whole reason we moved in here was so that we could all be back together. And I thought part of that was being back in the same bedroom."

"It was." He sighed. "But I really am not sleeping well and I'm not going to keep you from sleeping."

"And let me guess…you still don't want to talk about it either."

"Not really, no."

"Ok." She sighed. She didn't like the fact that he was wanting to sleep in a different bedroom from her, even if it did seem like the underlying reason was a kind one. But she would try talking to him later about it. "So what are you making?"

"Pancakes and bacon…with extra bacon for you."

"Thank you" It was nice that he was making breakfast and that he remembered her love of bacon. She was about to ask what he planned on doing today when Olivia came running into the kitchen.

"I smell bacon!" Olivia practically yelled.

Harvey chuckled. "That's because I'm frying it up right now."

"Yay!" She cheered. "Is it almost done?"

"Almost." He promised.

"Why don't you go sit at the counter?" She asked. "And I'll get you some milk while you wait."

"Ok Aunt Becca!" Olivia replied.

She went over to the fridge and pulled out the milk. She then got a glass out and put the milk in front of her niece.

"Thank you!" Olivia smiled.

"You're welcome." She smiled back.

* * *

Later that day, Harvey stood on the doorstep of the elaborate brownstone and rang the doorbell. It didn't take long for Jessica to answer the door.

"Harvey." She smiled. "What is so important that you have to interrupt my weekend?"

He chuckled. Since there was a smile on her face he knew she was just kidding around with him. "Like I said on the phone this morning, I need to talk to you about Rebecca."

"Come on in." She moved off to the side so he could come in. "First of all, welcome back. It hasn't been the same around the office since you left. But you would be proud of Rebecca. She has handled every single one of your clients perfectly. Some of them are going to be sad to come back to you."

He chuckled. "I don't doubt that. She is much better at making clients feel valued than I am at times. It's good to be back and it will be even better tomorrow when I get back into my office. I've been out of the game for too long."

"So how are you really doing?" She asked softly.

"Depends on who you ask." He shrugged, knowing he couldn't tell Jessica the truth. "I think I'm coping as well as can be expected. I think I'm doing alright, considering everything. Rebecca…well she…"

"She's your wife and she's worried about you." Jessica interrupted him. "You're lucky to have that, Harvey. I hope you realize that and don't throw it away."

"I'm not trying to throw it away."

"Good." Jessica smiled. "So then you aren't here to tell me that you and Rebecca are splitting up and you want her to somehow be pushed out of the firm?"

"No." He shook his head. Her question confused him. "Why the hell would you think that?"

"You asked to come here to talk to me on a Sunday instead of waiting to talk to me in the office tomorrow. That's something you only do if it is an emergency or you feel it can't be said in the office. You said it had to do with Rebecca and Rebecca has looked pretty miserable around the office lately. I was just reading cues. If I read them wrong, then sue me." Jessica explained.

"We aren't splitting up…" He thought about it. "At least I don't think we are splitting up. I hope we're not splitting up. Truthfully, our relationship has hit a rough patch lately because of everything that has happened."

"That's understandable." Jessica nodded. "You've both had to make a lot of adjustments to your lives lately."

"Yeah. There is something I need to tell you and it is a secret. No one is supposed to know about it yet. So you can't say anything."

"You know I am aware of what a secret means?" She laughed. "I know a secret means not to say anything about it."

"I know." He rolled his eyes. "Rebecca is pregnant."

"Congratulations." She smiled. "The look on your face tells me it wasn't a planned baby though."

"No it wasn't."

"Are you happy about it?"

"I am." He said, truly meaning it. The baby still scared him because he wasn't prepared to take care of an infant. But he was happy she was having his baby. It was the one thing that made him truly happy lately.

"She isn't out of her first trimester yet so we aren't really telling people about it. But I needed to tell you because of what I am about to ask." He explained.

"You want some kind of a favor?" She guessed.

"Yes." He nodded. "I want you to assign the majority of her cases over to me for the time being. I know she has been handling both her clients and mine for weeks now. And dealing with that while also being pregnant and trying to make the transitions better for the kids, looking after my mom while she is getting treatments and just everything else has been taking a heavy toll on her. I would like to take something off her plate and I think work would be the best option."

"You do realize she isn't going to like this though, right? She loves her job almost more than you do."

"I know." He nodded. "But this is for her own good and the good of the baby. I'll deal with any fallout. I just need your approval since she is a name partner."

"Ok." She nodded. "I will temporarily give you control of her clients, but you have to give them back."

"I will." He promised.

She grinned. "Something tells me you haven't discussed this with her yet, have you?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's a surprise."

"She will definitely be surprised." Jessica chuckled. "But I don't think it will be a good surprise. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I am." He nodded.

"Ok." She agreed.

"Thank you Jessica." He smiled.

"You're welcome Harvey."

* * *

"Hey." Harvey greeted his mom as he walked into the kitchen. "It seems quiet in here."

"Rebecca took the kids out to dinner because she wasn't sure when you would be home." Lily replied.

"Why didn't you go with them?" He asked, sitting next to her at the kitchen island.

"I was hoping you would come back while they were gone and we could talk."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm in trouble?" He laughed softly.

"You're not in trouble, Harvey." She told him. "I'm just worried about you."

"You don't have to worry…"

"I wasn't finished." She interrupted. "Now I've been watching everything silently since Marcus died. I didn't want to get involved because I wasn't sure how you would take it since we started reconnecting recently. But I have spent a lot of time with Rebecca lately. I see exactly what you saw in her when you decided to ask her to marry you. She is a wonderful person with a big heart, she's intelligent, she's hard working and she just wants to do whatever she can for those she loves."

"She is pretty amazing." He interjected. "I love her more than I thought I could love anyone."

"And yet you and she are having troubles." Lily observed.

"It's complicated." He explained.

"I'm sure it is. Marriage is never simple." Lily acknowledged. "Look, I know I haven't known you two as a couple for very long. But…I see the stress Rebecca is under. I see how she tries to connect with you and then I see the sadness when she can't. I see you pulling away from her and I see her trying to reach you less and less. I'd like to offer whatever help I may be to you. You know you can tell me anything. Right?"

"I know."

"I'm always going to be there for you, no matter what." She promised.

"I know, but there's nothing…"

"Don't tell me there is nothing wrong." She chastised him. "I know you. We may have been estranged for a long time…but you are my son and I know when something is bothering you. You get this little crease in the middle of your forehead and there is a look that pops up in your eyes when you are trying to hide that something is wrong."

"I'm working through it." He told her. It was only a half-lie. He was trying to work through it. So far he hadn't made much progress. He still felt completely responsible for what happened to Marcus. It was part of the reason why he worked so hard to get the restaurants put into the kids' names and why he was going to split the profit of Marcus' house with them. He wanted to make sure they were taken care of no matter what happened in the future.

"May I suggest working through it as quickly as possible?" She chuckled. "I don't want to see you alienate your wife any more than you already have. The farther away you push her now, the harder it will be to pull her close later on. Just think about that."

He watched as she patted him on the shoulder and then left the room. She was right. There was only so far he would be able to push Rebecca away until she finally snapped and left him.

* * *

Rebecca walked through the living room that night, picking up Olivia's toys.

"Olivia needs to be the one to do that." He said softly. "We need to be making her do it herself."

She didn't turn around to face her husband, instead continuing to pick up toys and put them in the toy box. "I'll get to that. But right now she has had a lot of changes going on in her life. I want her to get used to being here before I impose too many rules."

"Ok." He replied.

She turned to look at him. "I know what I'm doing."

"I never said you didn't." He conceded, holding his hands up in defeat.

"It felt like you were criticizing me." She said quietly.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Ok." She nodded. Now that the living room was picked up, she was going to go to bed. She walked past him, stopping when he lightly grabbed her arm. "What is it?"

"I wanted to talk to you about work." He answered.

"Ok. What about it?"

"I have spoken to Jessica. She says you have done an excellent job of handling my clients while I was in Boston."

"I did my best." She admitted.

"I know. And I know it wasn't always easy. So thank you." He smiled at her.

As much as she tried, she couldn't help but smile back at him. There was something so charming about his smile that made it almost impossible for her to resist smiling back at him. "Well, you're welcome."

"While I was talking to Jessica, she agreed to what I asked."

"What did you ask her?" She suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

"I'm taking over the majority of your clients for a little while." He told her.

"To hell you are!" She scoffed.

"Just listen to me please."

"Why do you want my clients?" She put her hands on her hips and stared at him.

"I don't want your clients." He explained. "I just want to lighten your workload. You've been overworked lately and I am trying to help you out."

"By going behind my back?" She couldn't believe him. It was a nice gesture, but he shouldn't have gone to Jessica before talking to her about it. This wasn't the kind of help or support she wanted or needed.

"I was trying to do something nice."

"No." She scoffed again. "You're doing whatever the hell you want again, like always. I didn't ask you to sleep in another bedroom and I sure as hell didn't ask for you to take my cases and I don't want you to."

"Well Jessica already agreed to it."

"You're unbelievable, you know that, right?" She rolled her eyes.

"This way you can focus on more of the stuff going on here with my mom and the kids. You won't have to do all of that and work 60 hours a week at the office. It can't be good for you or the baby to be working this hard all the time."

"Oh now you care about the baby?" She scoffed.

"What does that mean?" He sighed. "Of course I care about the baby."

"Really?" She chuckled. "Because that's news to me. Why don't you just be honest about what you are doing? You are trying to subtly push me out of the firm so that when you finally push me out of your life for good you no longer have to work with me."

"That's not true!" He objected. "Why does everyone seem to think I want to split up from you?"

"Who else said that?"

"Jessica." He admitted. "She mentioned something about it today."

"She's a smart woman and she's known you for a very long time. So maybe…"

"No!" He yelled. "I don't want us to end! Ok? That is the absolute last thing in the world I want!"

"Ok." She conceded. "You may not want us to end, but we can't stay frozen in this limbo forever."

"Rebecca…"

"Look, I don't even want to fight about this with you. You want most of my clients, take them. I really don't care anymore." She pushed her way past him.

 _A/N: To quote Harvey Dent from "The Dark Knight": "It is always darkest before the dawn. But I promise you, the dawn is coming."_


	51. Chapter 51

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-One

Rebecca followed Harvey to the car the next day. She had been avoiding him and ignoring him since last night when he told her he was taking most of her clients. He was already in the car so she quickly got in too.

"Morning Ray." She gave the man a small smile.

"Morning." Ray smiled back. "It's so nice to have both of you back in the car this morning."

"It's good to be back." Harvey replied.

She stayed out of the conversation Ray and Harvey were having, instead focusing on looking out the window. While she would admit that handling both his clients and hers was overwhelming…that didn't mean she couldn't handle it now that she was only going to be handling her own clients.

She could see where he was coming from in trying to help. In his own way he was doing something he thought was nice. But it was unsolicited and unnecessary help. If he truly wanted to help, then he should have talked to her about what she needed instead of going behind her back and imposing his will on her. Perhaps accusing him of trying to push her out of the firm wasn't right, but in the moment it felt like that was his plan. The fact that Jessica mentioned something about it too only made her more suspicious.

She didn't know how much longer she could handle living in limbo with Harvey. At this point she wasn't even sure he really loved her anymore. Last night he said that having their relationship end was the last thing he wanted to happen. But there was no intimacy between them of any kind anymore and now that they weren't even sharing the same bedroom it felt like they were more roommates than spouses.

It didn't take long to get to work so when they pulled up to the curb she smiled at Ray. "See you later."

"Bye." Ray smiled back.

She got out of the car, not waiting for Harvey. She knew he would either catch up or stay behind. At this point it didn't matter much to her. After she got into the elevator, she saw him stand next to her. Surprisingly they were the only ones in the elevator. That was abnormal for this time of day, although they were a little later getting to the office since they dropped the kids off at their new school this morning.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked softly.

She kept her eyes on the display that told them what floor they were on. They we approaching the 10th floor so they still had some time left until they got to the 50th. She took a deep breath. "What do you think, Harvey?"

"Yeah, you're right." He paused. "That was a stupid question. I'm sorry about last night. I don't think I explained everything right."

"You explained it perfectly." She looked over at him. "You think I can't handle everything. You have no faith in my ability to multitask and handle stress. You think that I'm going to just lose the baby because I'm working too much or have too many balls I'm trying to juggle. I get it. Message received loud and clear."

"I actually don't think that at all." He argued. "I know how strong you are and I know how well you have done managing everything. I'm just trying to relieve some of the stress."

"Well guess what? Work isn't stressing me out. The kids aren't stressing me out. Your mom's illness isn't stressing me out. The only thing that is really stressing me out is you." She had to stop talking before she started to cry.

He reached over to hug her but she backed up before he could wrap his arms around her.

"I love you Harvey." She told him. "I always have and I always will. But you are by far the biggest stressor in my life right now. So the next time you want to relieve some of my stress, maybe take a good look in the mirror and figure out a way for us to get back to the way we used to be instead of taking my clients."

The door dinged and they were on the 50th floor so she got out of the elevator first. She knew he was walking behind her as she made her way to the office but she didn't turn around. There was nothing else she could say at this point. So she went into her office and shut the door.

* * *

Harvey entered his office. Because of the glass doors, he was already aware of the fact that he had an office full of people waiting for him. After the elevator ride with Rebecca though, he wasn't in the mood for this. But he put a smile on his face anyway.

"What's this about?" He asked with the biggest fake smile he could muster as he looked around at Mike, Rachel, Jessica, Louis and Donna.

"We just wanted to welcome you back." Louis explained.

"We are all glad to have you back here." Rachel added.

"Well thank you." He was humbled by the fact that his friends cared that much.

"I need to get to a deposition, but it's nice to see you Harvey." Louis said on his way out of the office.

The phone rang and Donna sighed. "I should go answer that."

"Yeah and we need to get back to work too." Rachel said, pointing to Mike.

"I'll be right there." Mike told his wife. "So, why don't we get lunch today?"

"Lunch?" He asked.

"Yeah. You know that meal some people eat in the middle of the day?" Mike laughed.

"I know what lunch is." He rolled his eyes. "We just don't usually go out to lunch together."

"Maybe we should change that." Mike suggested.

"Sure."

"Good." Mike nodded before leaving the room.

Jessica walked over and cleared her throat. "So how did Rebecca take it when you told her you were taking over her clients?"

"Not well." He admitted.

"I didn't think it would go over well." Jessica admitted. "You still want to go through with it?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Fair enough." She nodded before leaving his office.

Donna came back in. "Hey."

"Hey." He greeted sitting down at his desk.

"So…"

"What is it, Donna?"

"You and Rebecca…"

"She's told you?" He asked.

"Of course she has." Donna said, closing the door to his office and sitting down across from his desk. "Harvey, I'm worried about you. I'm worried about her and I'm worried about your relationship."

"You don't need to be worried. I'm fine and my marriage will be fine." He assured her. "Now is there anything else?"

"I guess not." Donna sighed, leaving his office.

* * *

"So why invite me to lunch today?" Harvey asked Mike as they sat in a nearby diner.

"I haven't gotten to talk to you much the past couple of months." Mike explained. "You've been kind of MIA while in Boston. Which I understand. You've been dealing with a lot. I just…want to make sure you are alright."

"Did Rebecca put you up to this?" He asked. It sounded like something she would do. It seemed like everyone lately was asking how he was doing. He sensed she was putting them up to it.

"No." Mike shook his head. "She's been rather MIA as well. She and Rachel have been barely talking. Rachel's worried about her, but Donna keeps telling her that Rebecca is fine."

"I'm fine too." He assured his friend.

"See I don't believe that." Mike scoffed. "Something is going on with you and it doesn't seem like just normal grief over your brother's death."

"It's just been a stressful time." He admitted. "But things will get better."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." He shook his head. "Talking about it is the last thing I want to do."

"Ok." Mike nodded.

"What I will talk about is what's been going on with you."

"Well work certainly is keeping us busy lately, but that's nothing new. The kids are doing great. Laura is turning into Rachel more and more every day in terms of looks and more into me in terms of personality, which is just weird but also wonderful. And James just needs to stop growing so fast."

"I'm glad things are going well." And he truly was happy for his friend. Mike deserved some happiness and he was glad that his family was doing so well.

"Have you started planning Louis' bachelor party yet?"

He laughed. "No. I haven't even given it much thought."

"Slacker!" Mike laughed.

"Maybe Louis will fire me as his best man and then you can do it." He smirked.

"No thank you!" Mike laughed.

"That's what I thought."

"Just promise me there will be no mudding involved."

"What kind of monster do you think I am?" He chuckled. "I'm never going to encourage people to go mudding."

"Ok." Mike nodded. "Just checking."

* * *

That night, Rebecca went to Ethan's room to say goodnight. "Hey. You ready to go to bed?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he climbed into his bed.

"You were kind of quiet at dinner." She sat on the side of his bed. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"It was your first day at your new school." She mentioned. "All we could get out of you at dinner was it was fine. Was it really fine?"

"It's just different." Ethan explained. "The school is different, the kids are different and I don't know if I fit in there."

"Why not?"

"All of the kids seem to be rich…like insanely rich. They brag about expensive vacations they've taken and the newest technology that they have. I'm not one of those kids." He explained. "And I've never really had to deal with them."

She chuckled softly. "Well I don't know how to tell you this, but you actually kind of are one of those rich kids now."

"What do you mean?"

"Uncle Harvey and I are lawyers who are name partners in a firm and we make a lot of money. So since you are with us now…"

"You mean I have to turn into a rich douchebag now?" Ethan asked, his eyes going wide in fear.

"First of all, douchebag is not a word I want to hear come out of your mouth again." She warned him.

"Sorry." He apologized.

"Second, no." She laughed. "You don't have to turn into one of those. I'm just trying to let you know that you shouldn't feel out of place because of that. I know that going to a new school in a new state is rough and it feels weird. But it will get better."

"I know." He nodded. "I think I made one friend though."

"That's great!" She smiled.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." She nodded. "You can ask me anything."

"I know you and Uncle Harvey are fighting."

She still felt bad that he saw them fighting back in Boston. "Yeah."

"Are you two getting divorced?"

She didn't expect that question and it caught her off guard. "Why would you ask that?"

"I just want to know if I'm going to have to decide who to live with soon, because I think I would choose you."

"Ethan, your Uncle Harvey and I aren't getting a divorce. Sometimes adults fight with each other. It's kind of like when you fight with Olivia. It doesn't necessarily mean anything." She explained.

"But neither of you are happy." He pointed out.

"No one is happy all of the time, and anyone who says they are is lying. Something you will learn when you grow up is that relationships are extremely complex. You can be fighting or be angry or unhappy with someone and still love them. Please don't worry about my relationship with Uncle Harvey. Ok? Because it will be alright and we aren't getting divorced."

"Promise?" Ethan asked.

"I promise." She told him, hoping she was going to be able to keep that promise.


	52. Chapter 52

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Two

"Donna, have you seen Harvey?" Rebecca asked, glancing into his office and seeing it was empty. "I wanted to run something by him on the Mikelson merger."

"Oh. Harvey left about ten minutes ago for a meeting with Scottie about the case they are on." Donna told her. "He should be back in about an hour or so."

"Scottie?" She asked.

Donna laughed. "Yeah."

"Scottie's in town?"

"Yeah." Donna laughed again. "You know that she is town because of the case against Brown Trucking."

"Actually I didn't know that." She shook her head.

"Are you sure Harvey didn't tell you about her?"

"No. He certainly didn't say anything about it to me. I knew there was a case against Brown Trucking brought on by an out of state firm. I had no clue it was Scottie's firm or that she was handling it." She shook her head slowly. "How long has she been in town?"

"Almost a week." Donna answered.

She scoffed. "So Harvey's ex-girlfriend has been here for a week and he didn't think to mention that?"

"I guess not."

""Do you think…he would…with…"

"No." Donna shook her head. "Whatever Harvey possibly felt for her in the past doesn't compare to what he feels for you. And deep down you know that. So don't let your mind go down that path."

"It's too late for that." She sighed. "I've already gone down that rabbit hole."

"Harvey loves you." Donna pointed out. "You know that."

"He may love me." She argued. "But with everything that has happened lately, we haven't been on the same page and it scares me. No matter what I do, I can't reach him anymore. He's become so distant and I don't know how to fix it because he won't talk to me about it."

"It hasn't gotten any better?"

"No." She shook her head. "It's only getting worse."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"He's sleeping in a separate bedroom." She said softly.

"Really? How long has that been going on?"

She nodded. "Three weeks, ever since we moved into the new house. It's getting bad, Donna. Ethan even asked me if we were getting divorced."

"Oh geez…I had no idea things were getting to that point."

"I didn't want to bother you with it." She shrugged.

"It wouldn't have been a bother." Donna told her. "But look, you have nothing to worry about because you know Harvey loves you."

"I don't know anything anymore except that this whole situation sucks and I feel like I'm losing him." She explained. "Especially since now that Scottie is hanging around him."

"You know that Harvey would never cheat on you. He has a moral code that prevents him from doing that."

"I know." She nodded. "But can you honestly say that Scottie has the same moral code? Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that Scottie hasn't cheated on or cheated with someone?" She looked at Donna's face and it told her everything she needed to know. "That's what I thought."

"You don't need to worry about Scottie. Nothing will happen between them. Harvey will make sure of that."

"Sure." She sighed.

"And it's going to get better." Donna repeated herself. "Whatever Harvey's going through…he will eventually work through it and you two will get back on the right track again."

"I wish I could believe that." She sighed. "But right now I just don't have the faith."

"Do you want me to let you know when Harvey gets back?" She asked.

"No." She shook her head and then looked at her watch. "I think I'm going to go home for the day."

"It's only 3." Donna chuckled.

"Don't worry. I'll work on the merger from home." She chuckled.

"That wasn't what I meant."

"I know." She nodded. "I just need to get out of here."

"You mean, away from Harvey so that when he comes back you don't have to see him?"

"Maybe." She nodded sheepishly.

"You know, avoiding him won't solve your problems." Donna pointed out.

"I know." She nodded. "But trying to talk to him isn't solving any problems either."

* * *

Harvey strolled right past Donna's desk and into his office. As he sat down, he saw her close the door and stand in front of his desk. "What is it Donna?"

"So how was your meeting with Scottie?"

"I let her know that her crusade against Brown Trucking is over. I've forced her hand and she will have no recourse other than to get her client to drop the suit." He smiled.

"So she will be gone soon?"

"Yes, as long as nothing else happens with the case. It may take a day or two to get the paperwork finalized, but yeah." He nodded, looking at her closely. "Why?"

"Oh, no real reason." Donna shrugged. "It's just that I found out today that you neglected to tell Rebecca that Scottie is in town."

"I didn't think she was worth mentioning." He replied, opening up his laptop and pretending to type in an attempt to get Donna to leave.

"Not worth mentioning?" Donna repeated, laughing at him. "You two had this on-again, off-again thing going for years and now the woman is back working with you on a case. That's somehow not worth mentioning to your own wife?"

"It was just a hook-up though that happened before I ever met Rebecca." He defended himself. "It wasn't a relationship."

"You had a relationship with her in college though." Donna pointed out.

"That was different." He scoffed.

"As soon as Scottie came into town you should have told Rebecca about her. But you didn't. Maybe you should ask yourself why you didn't."

He scoffed. "Are you implying that I have feelings for Scottie?"

"I don't know anymore!" She shrugged. "You're all over the place lately, Harvey. I can't get a reading on you anymore."

"I don't have feelings for Scottie, other than friendship." He assured Donna.

"Ok…But I shouldn't have had to be the one to tell Rebecca about her."

"Probably not, but we aren't on the best terms right now. I didn't want to somehow make things worse, though it's not like they could get any worse."

"She told me about you sleeping in a separate room." Donna stated. "And apparently Ethan thinks you two are going to get a divorce."

"What?" That was news to him.

"He was asking Rebecca about it." Donna explained.

He closed the laptop, knowing that pretending to work wasn't going to get Donna to leave. "What do you want from me, Donna?"

"Rebecca went home early because she was trying to avoid you. I want you to go home and talk to your wife." Donna put her hands on her hips. "And I want you to stop acting like the old Harvey Specter because you are better than that."

"I don't know what you are talking about." He scoffed.

"I'm Donna. You think just because I haven't said anything that I haven't noticed the things happening around here?"

"What things?"

"You and Rebecca used to casually touch each other's hands while walking in together in the morning when you thought no one was looking. But now one of you walks ahead of the other and it's usually you that is leaving her behind. You don't go into each other's offices during the day anymore unless you have a specific reason for it and even then the visits are extremely brief. But it used to be that you would go into each other's offices at least five times a day just to see each other. You'd bring your work into the other one's office just so you could be around each other more. You don't leave for the day at the same time anymore because you are staying much later than you need to in an attempt to avoid going home and neither one of you is happy."

"I appreciate you doing your whole Donna routine on me." He sighed. "But what does it all mean?"

"I know you aren't happy. I know that Marcus' death has hit you hard and you aren't grieving in a healthy way. But…"

"Marcus is dead, Donna!" He pointed out. "We are raising his kids now. Everything is going wrong in my life except work. Forgive me for wanting to focus on the aspect of my life that is working."

"Not everything is wrong." Donna pointed out. "You have Rebecca, you have the kids, you have a baby on the way, you have your mother back in your life and you have friends who would walk through fire for you.

"Donna…" He sighed. "You don't know what you're talking about in this case."

"You're grieving." She sighed. "Anyone who knows you can see that. But you aren't working through it and that's the concerning part."

"What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to just flip a switch and be happy about all of the crap that's happened?"

"No." She shook her head. "No one is asking you to be happy about it. But you should be leaning on Rebecca right now, not pulling away from her."

"You don't know what you are talking about." He sighed.

"Fine." She sighed. "Push Rebecca away. Hell, push everyone who cares about you away if you want. But you're not just hurting yourself when you do it. You're hurting everyone who loves you. But you are hurting Rebecca the most and it needs to stop."

He watched Donna leave his office and had to admit she had a point. Maybe he should have told Rebecca about Scottie being in town. But he wasn't sure how to. To be honest, he wasn't sure how to talk to her at all anymore. Things between them just seemed to be getting worse and worse.

He released a deep sigh and got up from his desk. He needed to go home, just like Donna said. But he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of telling her she was right.

* * *

"Go get washed up for dinner." Rebecca told Ethan and Olivia. She watched them run off to the nearest bathroom and then went back to getting everything onto the table.

"Do you want any help?" Lily asked, appearing in the kitchen.

"If you want to take the potatoes out that would be great. I can get everything else." She told her.

"Ok."

She got the chicken and took it out to the table. Then she came back into the kitchen for the salad. As she left the kitchen she saw Harvey standing next to the table.

"Uncle Harvey!" Oliva came running and hugged him.

"Hey." He smiled, hugging his niece.

"You're really here for dinner?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Can you also put me to bed tonight and read me a story?" Olivia asked.

"Of course I can." He replied.

Rebecca sighed. Harvey had missed dinner every weeknight and Saturdays for the past two weeks. She figured he had talked to Donna and that was why he suddenly made an appearance at home before it was dark. She put the salad on the table, realizing she needed to get an extra place setting for Harvey since she wasn't expecting him. "Olivia, you need to sit down. We are ready to eat."

"Ok Aunt Becca!" She said, bouncing over to her seat.

She went into the kitchen to get an extra plate and some silverware. When she turned around she saw Harvey standing a few feet away from her. "Oh. You scared me."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to." He said softly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came to see if you needed any help."

"No." She shook her head. "I mean here for dinner. Usually you get home late, after the kids are in bed. Why choose now all of a sudden to come home for dinner?"

"Why all the questioning? I just felt like coming home for dinner." He sighed. "Is that a problem for you? Would you rather I go back to the office?"

"You can do whatever you want, Harvey. God knows you will anyway." She shoved the plate and silverware into his hands before going around him so she could go back to the table.

* * *

Later that evening, Rebecca sat on the roof. There were several stars in the sky and she looked up at them. She envied their ability to always shine so brightly, no matter what. She didn't have that ability. The past few months had taken a lot of her shine away from her.

She didn't know what to do about her relationship with Harvey anymore. He was pulling away from her, and as much as she wanted to put her foot down and stop him…she didn't have the energy anymore.

It hurt that he didn't tell her about Scottie being in town. Deep down she knew that he wouldn't cheat on her. Even though he was going through a lot turmoil, she knew that he wouldn't abandon his moral code for Scottie. The fleeting moments of jealousy she had were blamed on pregnancy hormones.

The real reason it hurt was it showed just how out of touch she was with him. A couple of months ago, he would have told her immediately about Scottie being in town. There would have been clear communication about it. But now, she realized she truly had no clue what was going on in his life. And it both saddened and scared her.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

She didn't turn to look at him. "It's a free country."

He sat down next to her.

"So how long did Donna have to berate you until you came home for dinner?" She asked.

"She didn't necessarily berate me." He defended himself. "She just made some valid points."

"She's good at that." She sighed, moving away from him. She sat her tea on the table next to her chair and then walked over to the balcony railing, leaning against it.

"So I probably should have told you about Scottie." He said after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, but it's fine." She shrugged.

"No, it obviously isn't." He argued. "You're mad about it."

"Yeah. But I don't really want to fight tonight." She said, turning around to look at him.

"I don't want to either, but we need to get this worked out."

"What's to work out?" She asked. "You are systematically shutting me out of your life and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I'm tired of trying and feeling like I'm running into a brick wall at 50 mph. Trying to get you to open up to me about anything is exhausting and I'm tired of it. I'm sorry. But I am. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

She tried to walk past him but stopped when he jumped up and stood in her way. "Harvey, please move."

"You're not the only one who is getting tired of this." He said softly, grabbing both of her hands in his and holding on.

"Something has to change. We can't go on like this." She whispered, looking at their joined hands and then back up at his face. This was the first real sign of intimacy they had shared in weeks. It both made her happy and depressed her at the same time.

"I know that." He whispered back. "Donna said something to me that got me thinking. She said she wanted me to stop acting like the old Harvey. I don't want to go back to being the old Harvey."

"I don't want that either, but I have to say she is right. You are acting like the old Harvey." She told him.

"I know." He nodded.

"You're the only one who has the power to stop it." She reminded him, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Goodnight."


	53. Chapter 53

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Three

A few days later, Harvey was getting ready to go out when Olivia came into the room.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Uncle Harvey, what are you doing?" She asked, sitting on the bed.

"I'm getting ready to go to a bachelor party." He informed her.

"What's that?"

"It is a party that a guy has right before he gets married. One of my friends is getting married in two days so I am throwing him a bachelor party tonight." He explained.

"Did you have a bachelor party before you married Aunt Becca?"

"No." He shook his head. "We set a wedding date but then got married before that date."

"Why?" Olivia laughed. "That makes no sense."

"There were a couple of reasons." He explained. "But the most important reason was because I couldn't wait to make your Aunt Becca my wife."

"So what changed?" Olivia asked.

"What do you mean?" He wasn't sure he understood Olivia's question.

"If you were so excited about making her your wife, why aren't that excited about her being your wife? What changed?" Olivia asked.

"Who said anything changed?"

"You guys aren't around each other much." Olivia explained. "I never see you hug or kiss like before. And you don't smile at her like you used to."

He wasn't sure what to say to that. He knew Ethan was aware that he and Rebecca were having issues but he thought that Olivia was too young to figure it out. Unfortunately it seemed like he was wrong. Thankfully he didn't have to say anything because Rebecca came in.

"There you are! I was looking for you." Rebecca sighed. "It is time for dinner. C'mon."

"Ok." Olivia hopped off the bed. "Bye Uncle Harvey!"

"Bye." He watched Olivia leave his room and sighed. He saw Rebecca turn to leave and called out to her. "Wait."

They hadn't been talking much since the other night when he came home for dinner. But he had been coming home for dinner every night since then. He was trying, he just wasn't sure if it was enough yet to make any kind of difference.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning around to face him.

He walked over to her. "I'll try not to be too late tonight."

"It's ok." She nodded. "It's Louis. I highly doubt he is a party all night kind of guy."

"Still…"

"You don't have worry about letting me know when you will be back." She told him. "I'm used to not knowing what you are doing or when you will be home."

"It shouldn't be that way though."

"No." She shook her head. "You're right. It shouldn't."

He cautiously took a few steps closer to her, relieved when she didn't back away. "I'm really trying here…" He whispered.

"I know." She whispered back.

He saw the pain in her eyes and hated that he was the reason for it. But he really was trying to be better for her. He slowly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him into a hug. To his surprise she didn't try to back up. In fact, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face on his chest. They stayed like that for a few minutes and he drank it in for as long as he could. It had been far too long since he held her in his arms.

His instance to hold her away at arms' length lately had taken a toll on him as well. He longed to hold her, kiss her and just be with her. But every time he thought about it, he wondered if he even deserved her because of what happened with Marcus. So he stayed away.

She pulled away first and far too soon for his liking. He saw her wipe away a tear from her face and frowned.

"Have a good time tonight." She said, escaping from the room as quickly as possible.

* * *

"This is great." Louis beamed, raising his glass to Mike, Harvey and Charles. "Best bachelor party ever!"

Harvey chuckled. "It's just dinner and drinks."

"But it is dinner and drinks with my best guy friends." Louis pointed out. "The only thing that would make it better is if we all went mudding afterwards."

"There isn't enough alcohol in the world for me to do that." Harvey joked.

"Yeah, once was enough for me." Mike chimed in.

"What's mudding?" Charles asked.

"Oh! Don't ask that!" Mike chuckled. "That's a rookie mistake."

"It's only the greatest way in the world to relax." Louis explained.

"All you do is lay down, naked in a pile of mud." Mike corrected Louis.

"Yeah, I'm not sure that sounds like my kind of thing." Charles shook his head. "I don't think that sounds relaxing. I think that sounds like a huge mess with very little payoff."

"Ok." Louis nodded. "I'll admit it isn't for everyone. But it is always an amazing experience. I always feel a greater sense of clarity about all of my problems."

Harvey was about to say something else when he saw Scottie walk into the bar. He looked down at his drink and quickly chugged the rest before getting up. "Excuse me while I go get another."

He slipped away from the table while Mike was explaining about the time he went mudding with Louis. He found her on the end of bar and sat down next to her. "Another please." He asked the bartender when he came back with Scottie's drink.

"What are you doing here?" She looked over at him.

"Louis' bachelor party." He motioned towards their table.

"Ok. That explains what you are doing in this bar. So why are you over here and not at the bachelor party? Did you just come over here to rub it in my face that you won again?" She asked in a grumpy tone.

"No. I think I did that enough when we signed the final papers this afternoon." He shook his head. "I came over because I need to talk and I need a friendly ear."

"Why not go to Mike or Donna?" She asked. "I mean, Mike is right over there. Or, and here's a wild idea. Why not go to your wife?"

He sighed. "I can't go to Rebecca right now."

"Why not?"

"Trust me. I just can't. It's complicated."

"Harvey…I don't want to get caught up in the middle of any marital issues you have…"

"Please?" He was close to begging at this point. "I need someone who can be impartial and who isn't invested in my relationship with Rebecca."

"Ok. I guess that describes me. Hell, I haven't even met her. So I guess I'll bite." She sighed. "What's on your mind?"

"I feel like I'm drowning right now." He admitted. "First Katie died, then Marcus got arrested for a DUI, I found out my mom is sick, I've found out some terrible things about Marcus and his addictions, Marcus killed himself, we brought his kids here to live with us, we moved into a townhouse and Rebecca is pregnant."

"That's a lot of stuff and a lot of changes." She shrugged. "It's only natural to be overwhelmed by everything."

"It's too much." He shook his head. "I can't process it. I feel like I am in quicksand and I can't get out."

"Honestly, I feel like you should be talking about this with your wife." She pointed out.

"I can't put it all on her." He argued. "She is dealing with everything too and I just can't bother her with everything I'm going through as well."

"Isn't that part of the reason to have a spouse though?" She chuckled. "So that you have someone who can help you shoulder your burdens?"

"I don't know how to talk to her about this. I'm afraid she will leave me if she knows the whole story about Marcus."

"Ok then." She nodded. "What is the biggest thing weighing on your mind right now?"

"There was a lot that Marcus left out of his suicide note. He was involved in some pretty shady things with some pretty shady people. He did some things that ended up costly him and the people around him a great deal. It was irresponsible and started a chain of reaction that has destroyed everything around him. When I found out about it, I was horrible to him. I said a lot of things that I now wish I could take back. But I was just so angry with him. I thought of him as weak and almost hated him for what he did."

"I think I know where you are going with this." She interrupted him. "His suicide wasn't your fault. You know that, right?"

"But I shouldn't have been so hard on him." He argued. "I knew he was going through a rough time and yet I kicked him while he was down and then turned my back on him."

She leaned in closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Harvey, you can't take the blame for someone else's actions. Marcus was a grown man who obviously had a bunch of demons in his life. I highly doubt that some words from you were the final straw."

"Maybe…"

"There is no maybe, Harvey. You can't hold yourself responsible for someone else's actions. It will drive you crazy if you do it."

"I think it already has." He chuckled.

"What else is bothering you?"

"Rebecca's pregnancy." He sighed.

"Ok." She chuckled. "What about it? Do you want the kid or not?"

"I want the baby but that isn't the real problem."

"What is the real problem then?"

"Everything is changing so much." He sighed. "I feel like I get used to one change and then another one comes and slams me down again. I feel like our marriage is hanging on by a very thin thread right now because I've been pushing her away lately. We're even sleeping in separate rooms because I don't know how to be around her right now. I don't know how to talk to her and I don't think she really likes having me around anymore. I'm just constantly afraid she will leave me and I don't think I could handle that."

"You really need to be talking to her about this and not me." She laughed.

"Maybe."

"You keep saying maybe, but there is no maybe." She sighed. "Go home and talk to your wife…really talk to her. Settle this because you obviously love her and you need to work this out with her…not me."

"I'm afraid if she finds out everything, she will leave." He admitted out loud again.

"I don't know enough about your marriage or Rebecca to know if that is an option." She admitted. "But I do know that if you keep pushing her away, there will come a point where she will walk away…even though she loves you. So you have to figure out if you want to risk it by pushing her away or trust that you can tell her anything. But that is something only you can figure out. I can't help you with that part."

"I think you already did." He smiled, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you Scottie."

"You're welcome Harvey." She smiled. "Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go back to my hotel room and sulk a little more that you beat me on this case before I head back to Chicago tomorrow."

"I'll see you next time."

"Not if I see you first." She grinned.

He watched her get up from the bar and leave. Then he noticed that Louis was standing next to him.

"We were going to get another round." Louis told him. "Are you in?"

"Actually, do you mind if I call it a night?" He asked. "I know this is your bachelor party, but I need to get home."

"Is everything alright?" Louis asked.

He could see the concern on Louis' face and realized then that Louis really was a good friend. "Everything's fine. But I feel like I need to go be with Rebecca. We haven't had a lot of time together lately."

"Understandable." The man nodded. "Say no more. Family always comes first."

"Thanks Louis."

"And Harvey, thank you."

"For what?" He asked.

"Planning this night." Louis explained. "You picked my favorite restaurant, you found Shakespeare performed in the park that we could watch and then drinks here…it was the best bachelor party I could have hoped for."

"Even though there was no mudding involved?" He chuckled.

"Yes. Mudding with people who don't want to mud wouldn't have been relaxing anyway." Louis nodded. "Anyway, thank you. I know you have had a lot going on lately and the fact that you would still plan this means a lot to me."

"You're welcome Louis." He held out his hand so they could shake hands, but Louis insisted on a hug.

"You should know by now I'm a hugger." Louis laughed.

"I should know that by now." He laughed, pulling out of the hug.

"Say hi to Rebecca for me." Louis said with a wave.


	54. Chapter 54

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Four

Harvey entered the house and threw his keys on the table near the door. It was late and all of the lights were out, meaning everyone was in bed. After talking to Scottie, he realized that he needed to talk to Rebecca and he needed to do it tonight before he lost his nerve. He needed to trust in their relationship. He needed to trust that things would be ok. He needed to trust her not to leave him because of what happened with Marcus. Because Scottie was right. There was going to be a time where Rebecca got so fed up with him pushing her away that she stops putting up a fight and walks away.

And losing her forever would devastate him.

He climbed the stairs two at a time because he didn't want to wait for the elevator. It wasn't long until he was standing outside the door of her bedroom. It was supposed to be their bedroom but then he distanced himself to a different bedroom because he didn't want her to know that he was still having nightmares. That wasn't fair of him to do to her. Though most of the things he had done and the ways he treated her lately weren't fair.

He needed to come clean about everything and hope she would forgive him.

Slowly, he turned the handle of the door. He quietly closed the door behind him and walked over to the bed. She was asleep on her left side, her arm draped protectively over her stomach. Even while sleeping she was still the most beautiful woman in the world to him. He sat down on the edge of the bed and thought about how to start the conversation he knew was long overdue.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize Rebecca was awake until he heard her voice.

"Harvey?"

Her voice had that half-asleep tone that he always found adorable. He wanted to smile at it but now wasn't the time to do that.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"We need to talk." He told her. He watched as she sat up against the headboard.

"It's the middle of the night." She pointed to the clock on the nightstand. "It can't wait until morning?"

"I may not have the courage to say this in the morning." He admitted.

"Ok then." She yawned, starting to get more alert. "What is going on?"

"I'm drowning, and I have been for some time." He started, unable to look at her face while he talked. "With everything that has happened, I can't seem to find solid ground anymore. Everything and everyone feels like they are slipping away from me."

Her voice was so soft that he had to listen carefully in order to hear her. "Perhaps you should stop pushing away the people who are still here."

"You're right. It's counter-productive to push away those who are still here." He told her as he moved to face her. "I think I'm finally ready to talk about everything with you."

"Really?"

He saw the hopeful look on her face and nodded. "I need to tell you what I have been keeping from you. It's time I tell you and then hope you can forgive me for everything."

"Ok. If you're ready to talk then I'm ready to listen." She nodded.

"There's so much to tell you." He sighed. "I'm not even sure how or where to start."

"My advice is to just pick a place and go from there."

"Alright." He nodded. "First of all, Katie's death wasn't a random act of violence from someone trying to rob them. It's why the police were never able to figure out who was behind it. There was no robbery."

"What are you talking about?" She scoffed. "She died because of being there at the wrong time during a break in."

"No." He shook his head. "It wasn't a robbery because they never took anything. That's not the reason she died."

"Then what really happened?" She asked, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"After Marcus went into rehab, I found out the truth behind everything. He had started gambling again and owed a lot of money to a bookie. He didn't want to come to me and ask for the money so he was trying to raise it himself. But his bookie thought he was taking too long so he had Katie killed."

"No." She shook her head. "That's too outrageous."

"But it's unfortunately true." He looked over at her.

"Why didn't he come to you for the money? Or even to me? We would have helped him."

"He was ashamed." Harvey explained. "And when Specter men get ashamed, we make bad decisions, like cutting people out of our lives and thinking we can handle things on our own when we really need help."

"Harvey…"

"It gets worse though. He started drinking because of the guilt he felt over Katie's death. He still owed money to the bookie so he embezzled some money from his restaurants. Colton found out about it and confronted him. The next morning after that was when he drove drunk and got into the accident with Olivia."

"Oh my God." She sighed.

"I guess between the embezzled money and the money from Katie's life insurance he was still $500,000 short on his debt. So those men who you thought were following you, were actually following you. You weren't paranoid about that…"

He watched as she got up from the bed and walked to the window, holding on to the frame with both hands.

"They were hired by the bookie to keep an eye on you. If another day or two had passed, I think they might have…you could have been…I mean there was a chance that they could have…but I paid off the rest of the debt and they had no reason to be watching you anymore so they left you alone."

He noticed she was quiet, likely absorbing everything and taking it all in. He decided to give her a moment before telling her anything else.

"So when you went to go pay off the bookie and you told me that they just roughed you up a little, they could have very easily killed you like they killed Katie?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "But they didn't. I'm just sorry that you were in danger. If I had known about it sooner I would have paid the bookie off before it ever got to this point. As soon as I found out from Marcus I started getting the money from our accounts to pay it and I did my best to make sure didn't go after you. I wasn't going to let anything happen to you."

"I know that you'd do anything you could to keep me safe." She assured him. "That's not what…you put yourself in a lot of danger without telling me."

"I didn't want to worry you."

"Ok." She shook her head. "But why didn't you say anything about any of this sooner?"

"I was ashamed."

"Why were you ashamed?" She turned around to face him and leaned back on the window frame. "You didn't do anything wrong. You did everything you could to make sure that no one else was in danger by paying off the debt."

"Yes, I did. I did do something wrong. I was horrible to Marcus after I found out everything that happened. I said things to him that I never should have. I lashed out in ways I've never lashed out at anyone. I told him I should let him rot in jail for years on the DUI charges. I told him I was tired of cleaning up his messes. I was vicious and cruel. And then I tried to go back and apologize but he wouldn't see me. So I lied to you and my mom about continuing to visit him. I hadn't seen or talked to him in several weeks before he committed suicide. In fact, he died thinking I hated him."

"He knew you loved him."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Well trust me because I'm sure of it." She assured him. "There were so many times when you weren't around that Marcus told me how much he appreciated having you in his life. He loved you and he knew that you loved him too. But everything you have told me makes it that much more obvious that Marcus was troubled. And knowing all of this now, it makes so much more sense that he killed himself. He must have been struggling so much more than we realized."

"I failed him." He said, his eyes welling up.

She came over and immediately hugged him. "No. Don't ever say that. Harvey, you didn't fail him. You always did your best to help him, even when he didn't make it easy."

"My best wasn't good enough to save him though." At this point he couldn't help it and the tears started to fall down his cheeks.

"Harvey…" She pulled away from him just enough to look at his face. One of her hands reached out and started brushing away the tears. "You have been holding all of this inside for far too long. Just let it out, ok?"

"I should have been there for him more! I shouldn't have kicked him when he was down! Hell, I even rubbed his face in the fact that Katie was pregnant again."

"Oh no." She closed her eyes. "Really? I thought we agreed to never tell him that."

"I know." He groaned. "I just couldn't help it. It spilled out before I could stop myself. And I hate myself for it because I'll never forget the pained look on his face. I think it was the final straw for him."

"You need to try and find a way to let your guilt go before it rips you up inside." She put her hands on either sides of his face.

"It already has." He whispered.

"And this is what you've been keeping from me?" She asked softly.

"Yeah."

"Is that everything?"

"No. There's also his suicide note. In it, he basically told me his suicide was my fault because I essentially held up a mirror to his failures. And I keep having nightmares every night where I walk in right before he kills himself and he always tells me how he blames me and how I'm going to end up alone, just like him. He says it is the Specter curse. It's why I have been staying in a different bedroom. I didn't want to bother you every night because you need your sleep."

"You shouldn't worry about my sleep." She told him softly.

"I can't help it. I know it hasn't seemed like it lately, but I always worry about you and what you need." He chuckled. "Dream Marcus is right though. It is my fault. This whole thing is my fault and I'm going to end up alone."

"It's not your fault." She shook her head.

"Then why does it feel like it is my fault? Why can't I get it out of my head?"

"Because you are a very caring man and you loved your brother." She explained.

"Yeah, I loved him so much he killed himself." He scoffed.

"Harvey…"

He tried to break out of her hold so he could stand up and pace but she tightened her grip on his face.

"Look at me." She commanded softly.

"If you want to leave me because of the way I've treated you lately and the fact that I was so horrible to Marcus, I'll understand."

He reluctantly decided to look into her eyes, afraid of what he would see. He'd imagined this moment for a long time. He'd dreamed about this moment and thought he knew how it would go. Now that she knew everything she would be disgusted with him over his actions. Now was the time for his reckoning.

To his surprise and confusion, he didn't see disgust. He didn't see hatred or anger. He just saw love and understanding.

"Harvey…this wasn't your fault. I can't believe you would even think it was and my heart breaks for you because I can only imagine what you have been going through. I thought maybe you were blaming yourself for Marcus' death but I had no idea the extent of how deep this went. You should have told me sooner. I could have tried to help you…"

"I thought you would hate me." He whispered. "I thought you would blame me for Marcus's death too and I thought you would leave me. I didn't want to take the chance that you would start looking at me differently. So I started avoiding you, which I know is silly now because it just pushed you away more. But I didn't know what to do and like I said earlier, Specter men make bad decisions when we feel ashamed…"

She leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his lips to silence him before she pulled back and smiled at him. "When are you going to learn that there is nothing you could ever say or do that will make me hate you?"

"But I thought you would agree with Marcus that it was my fault and you would leave me." He admitted.

"The way I see it, there are two major flaws with that belief. One is that I don't believe it was your fault. Marcus has always has his own demons. You didn't make him commit suicide. The things you said to him may not have been very nice, but think about this. You've said mean things to lots of people and they don't go out and kill themselves. Hell, you've practically tortured Louis for years and he made you his best man. So you really don't have that kind of power over people to make them kill themselves. And the second flaw is that I'm never leaving you." She explained.

"It felt like you were close to leaving lately." He told her.

"I could say the same thing about you though." She pointed out. "It felt like you already had one foot out the door."

"It's not what I want though."

She sighed and let go of his face. "Look, I was just frustrated and angry. First you wouldn't let me in, then you actively were pushing me away. All I've wanted to do is help you. But I meant what I said in our wedding vows. I may walk away to calm down, but I'm never walking away forever. You are stuck with me. I just didn't think you wanted to be stuck with me anymore."

"I'm so sorry." He caressed the side of her face. "I didn't mean to push you away so much. I just…"

"I know that…now." She interrupted.

"Can you ever forgive me? I've treated you so badly lately."

"Come here." She pulled him into a hug.

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm asking for it anyway." He told her, clinging on to her like she was life raft in the ocean.

"All I've wanted is for you to feel comfortable telling me what's wrong. And now you have." She paused. "Harvey, we can't keep things like this from each other. It tore you apart on the inside and almost destroyed us."

"I know." He nodded.

"But you did the right thing by finally telling me." She smiled. "Now we can deal with this together."

"God I love you." He sighed.

"I love you too." She leaned in for another kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. After a moment, she climbed on to his lap. He started kissing her neck, marking a trail from her ear all the way down to her collarbone.

"Harvey…" She moaned softly.

"Lay back." He watched as she moved back so that she was closer to the headboard of the bed. He gently stalked her, careful not to put his full weight on her. He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth hungrily, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck to pull him in deeper.

After a few moments he pulled away, focusing his attention now on her slightly rounded stomach. He pulled her shirt up to expose her stomach. By his calculations, she was at the twelve week mark now, which meant they could start telling people, and she wasn't showing too much yet. But he knew her body inside and out and could definitely tell the difference.

He had been so distracted and preoccupied with his grief and guilt. He had let Rebecca down in so many ways, one of which was being an active partner in this pregnancy. He had been ignoring all of his responsibilities for too long. That was going to change now.

He kissed her stomach and then laid his head down gently, cradling her. Inside there was the child they created together, formed from their love. Although he was nowhere near fine yet and realized it would be a while before he could finally make peace with everything relating to Marcus, he realized he had to step up.

He had to show dream Marcus that he was wrong. He wasn't going to end up driving Rebecca away and he wasn't going to end up alone. He would do what none of the other Specter men had done before…he would be happy with his family and he would keep his family intact at all costs.

After a few more moments, he felt her reach for him. "C'mon." She told him.

He moved so that he was next to her.

"It's late." She pointed to the clock on the nightstand. "You're sleeping in here with me."

"I…"

"No." She interrupted him. "I know you have nightmares and I hope for your sake you don't have one tonight. But it doesn't matter to me if you wake me up fifteen times in a night. You are sleeping next to me from now on and that is non-negotiable."

He couldn't help but smile a little at her bossiness. "If you insist."

"I do insist." She grinned.

He got up off the bed and took off his shoes. He was about to take off his shirt when she stood up and started helping him. The feeling of her hands on his bare chest as she slid the shirt off of him was almost intoxicating. He couldn't help but wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer.

He was glad that she rested her head on his chest and held on to him. "Are we going to be ok?"

"What do you think?" She chuckled, letting go of him so she could kiss him.

"I think I was an idiot for not telling you sooner."

She grinned and kissed him on the cheek before getting back into bed. "I wouldn't necessarily say you were an idiot. Fool is the word that comes to mind."

"Fool works for me too." He said, taking his pants off and then joining her in bed. He was happy when she cuddled up to him, resting her head on his chest.


	55. Chapter 55

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Five

The next morning, Rebecca woke up in Harvey's arms. It proved to her that last night wasn't a dream. It really happened. He finally let her in and let her know what was going on. While she was devastated by the extent of pain he had been in, she was elated that he was finally opening up to her. They could finally start working through his grief together. She knew that together they could work through it.

She just hoped that there wouldn't be a repeat of what happened the last time she felt like they had reached a breakthrough. After she told him about the baby, things seemed better between them for about a day. Then things got massively worse because he pulled away again. All she could do now was hope that didn't happen though.

She was glad he realized that he had treated her horribly. And she would figure out how to deal with that and come to terms with it later. For now she felt like she had to just be supportive of him and help him get through this.

It also didn't escape her mind though that he was much better at keeping secrets from her than she ever imagined.

She put it out of her head for now, choosing to focus on the fact that he seemed to be coming back to her now. It was way overdue. She had missed him and just wanted her husband back. She smiled as she cuddled up to him more, tightening her grip on him.

"Good morning." He breathed deeply, kissing the top of her head.

"It's a great morning." She smiled as she pulled away just enough so she could see his face.

He leaned down and kissed her, moving her onto her back.

"God, I've missed this." She sighed once their lips parted.

"I did too." He cupped the side of her face with his hand. "I didn't even have a nightmare last night."

"I'm glad."

"Maybe you are my personal dreamcatcher, forcing the bad away." He suggested.

Perhaps part of it was the hormones, but she started to cry.

"Hey. What's wrong?" He asked. "What's going on in that head of yours? That was supposed to be a compliment."

"I know. I just…wasn't sure you would ever come back to me. I wasn't sure this would ever happen again or that I would wake up in your arms again." She admitted softly. "I thought maybe we were done and it broke my heart…"

"No." He shook his head and wiped the tears away. "We're never done. I swear. And I'm so sorry that I pushed you away for so long. It wasn't fair to you and I know it made things worse around here…"

"Hey." She interrupted, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's ok."

"No it's really not." He objected. "I've been dismissive and horrible to you lately. All you wanted to do was be there for me and I completely shut you out. I made you feel like you didn't matter to me anymore when the truth is you are the only thing that matters."

"Harvey…"

"I hurt you a lot. I know that. And I feel terrible about it because I let myself get so swept up in my own pain and insecurity that I lost track of the fact that you're my wife. Part of marriage means you have someone to help you carry your burdens. But I didn't do that."

"No, you didn't." She said.

"I promise you…I'm not going to let this happen again. I won't let our relationship get this bad again. We're going to get us back to where we used to be and I'm going to find a way to get past all of this regarding Marcus. I'll be there for you more with the kids and my mom and this pregnancy. You don't have to do everything by yourself anymore."

"You have no clue how happy I am to hear you say that." She kissed him. "Because what matters now is that we don't let this happen again. We have to talk to each other and tell each other everything. It's the only way we can guarantee our relationship doesn't get this bad again."

"I agree." He nodded.

"And you're right. You don't have to carry this burden about Marcus by yourself anymore." She promised him. "We are in this together."

"The team is back together?" He chuckled.

"Yes!" She laughed. "But we should get up because the kids have to go to school and we have to go to work."

"Can't we stay in bed all day?" He asked.

"No." She shook her head.

"Please?" He grinned. "I can make it worth your while."

"Oh I know you can." She grinned back. "But I have a meeting with Louis at noon. He is giving me a rundown on his clients since I am covering for him while he goes on his honeymoon. I can't miss that meeting. So how about we compromise? I will get up and get the kids off to school. You can stay here and keep the bed nice and warm for me. And we can go into work later for a half day."

"Is that the best deal you have?" He asked.

"It's the best deal you're gonna get." She kissed him.

"Then I guess I have no choice but to stay here until you come back." He sighed. "But are you sure you don't want me to get the kids ready for school and you keep the bed warm?"

"To be honest, I didn't think you would want to." She truly didn't think that was something he would want to do so that's why she didn't suggest it. The past three weeks he had been no help getting them ready in the mornings.

"Then allow me to change the terms of this compromise." He explained. "I'll get the kids ready and you keep this bed warm for me. That way you can get some more rest."

"Ok." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"You know, I haven't asked often enough and I feel terrible about it…" He trailed off for a moment. "But how are you feeling? How is the pregnancy going?"

"It's going pretty well now." She said in between kissing him. "The morning sickness is going away for the most part, which is very helpful. Now I am just more emotional at the most random moments."

"You're at the twelve week mark now, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I hit that milestone a couple of days ago."

"So we can start telling people now?" He asked.

"Yeah. I guess so." She smiled.

"Why don't we start with the kids tonight?" He suggested.

She thought about it and couldn't see any reason why telling the kids first would be a bad idea. "Ok. We can do that."

"We can order a pizza and tell them at dinner."

"Sounds good."

"I should get up if I'm going to get them ready for school." He looked at the clock. "Can I have another kiss before I go?"

"Of course." She smiled before leaning in and placing a long, slow kiss on his lips. She even used a little bit of tongue.

"That wasn't fair." He groaned. "Now I really don't want to leave."

"Just remember the sooner you leave, the sooner you get back." She taunted him.

"Ok." He snuck one more kiss from her before jumping out of bed and getting some clothes on. "I'll be back."

"I'll be waiting here." She smiled.

* * *

When Harvey got back from taking the kids to school, he found his mom waiting for him. "Hey. I thought you had your treatment today." He smiled.

"I do. I'm leaving in a moment. But first I want to know who you are and what you have done with my son?" She asked with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?" He laughed.

"You are different today. You seem lighter somehow." She pointed out. "What happened?"

"I confided in Rebecca last night. I think things are going to be good between us again soon." He explained. Before he could say anything else, his mom closed the gap between them and gave him a big hug.

"I'm so glad you finally talked to her." She said.

"I should have told her a long time ago." He confessed.

"You weren't ready then." She shrugged after pulling out of the hug. "You've always had to do things on your own timetable. You've been that way since you were a baby. I'm proud of you for taking the first steps to making things right with her. But I need to get going or else I will be late for my treatment."

"We can talk later." He told her with a smile.

"I'd like that very much." She smiled back.

After watching her leave, he realized that he and Rebecca had the whole place to themselves. He grinned as he walked up the stairs to their bedroom. A soft chuckle escaped when he saw that she was asleep. He quietly stripped back out of everything except his boxers and then slipped under the covers.

"Mmmmm…" She murmured, opening her eyes. "You're back."

"I am." He nodded.

"I texted Donna and told her we would be in late today."

"Good." He grinned. "Thanks."

"Thank you for taking the kids to school." She leaned up and gave him a kiss. "I didn't realize how much I needed a little extra sleep."

"I'll do that more often if it will help you." He promised, pulling her closer to him.

"Actually…before you go any further, can we talk about something?" She asked.

"Sure." He nodded. "What's on your mind?"

"I think you need to tell your mom everything you told me about Marcus." She stated.

"I don't think she needs to know all of it…"

"I do." She insisted. "Look, no offense but I've gotten a lot closer to your mom than you have lately and I think I know her pretty well by now. She puts on a brave face but there is a lot that she is worried and stressed out about. Part of that is the face that she is still grieving Marcus and I think she needs to know what kind of frame of mind he was in because right now she still thinks she did something wrong or she missed some clue. It would give her some closure."

"She won't like hearing this, especially the fact that I played a role in it." He objected.

"She isn't going to think you are responsible."

"How can you be so sure?" He scoffed.

"Because she loves you." She explained. "You're her son, Harvey. She isn't going to blame you for any of it."

"I'll think about it." He conceded.

"Can I ask you to think about something else too?" She chuckled.

"You can ask me anything you want."

"I want you to consider going to see a therapist about Marcus."

"Seriously?" He groaned.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I think it might help."

"I'll consider it." He sighed. The thought of telling a complete stranger everything that was going on in his mind made him weary. But he would think about it because she was smart. If she thought it would help him, he had to at least consider it. "But I make no promises about actually going to see anyone."

"I can live with that." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Now…where were we?" He asked.

"I think we were right about here." One of her hands dipped underneath the covers and found the top of his boxer shorts.


	56. Chapter 56

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Six

Rebecca looked over at Harvey again while they rode the elevator up to the 50th floor and smiled.

"Why do you keep looking over?" He laughed. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No." She giggled. "I'm just happy. I didn't think we'd be here together like this and I just want to enjoy it."

"Like you enjoyed earlier at the house?" He winked.

"I am so glad that your mom wasn't home." She chuckled. "I would have been so embarrassed if she heard us."

"You were pretty vocal." He teased.

"What can I say?" She winked. "It felt good."

He grabbed a hold of her hand and she smiled at him.

The elevator dinged and they got out, still holding hands. "So what kind of pizza do you think we should get tonight?"

"Well it is a celebration so we should get that stuffed crust pizza that Ethan likes." Harvey suggested.

"And maybe a chicken BBQ one for Olivia." She spoke up.

"I thought she loved pineapple."

"Her love of pineapple pizza ended two weeks ago. Now she is all about chicken BBQ." She laughed.

"That's good. I hate pineapple pizza." He chuckled.

"Me too." She agreed. "Is there a special pizza you would like?"

"I don't care as long as I get to eat pizza with you." He told her.

"You're pulling out all the stops with your charm now." She laughed as they neared her office.

"Well I have a lot of time to make up for." He pointed out.

"True." She smiled, pulling her hand from his and going into her office. "I'll see you later."

* * *

As soon as he sat down, he saw Donna come into his office. "What's up, Donna?"

"What's up?" She scoffed. "You and Rebecca?"

"Yeah?" He chuckled.

"You guys are ok now?"

He could see the hope in his friend's eyes and smiled. "We are. We had a very productive talk last night."

"Now it makes more sense why you two were late coming in this morning." She smiled. "I haven't seen Rebecca smile that much in a long time. Keep it up, Specter."

"I intend to, Paulson." He smirked.

* * *

"Hey Louis." She greeted with a huge smile as she saw Louis standing in her doorway. "How are you today?"

"I'm good." He nodded, coming in to her office and sitting down. "You certainly seem like you are in a good mood today."

"I am, actually." She nodded.

"What's going on?"

"Well actually I should probably thank you. Harvey came home from your bachelor party last night and we finally had a real, honest talk about everything. Whatever you guys did last night gave him exactly the push he needed in order to open up to me. So thank you."

"I'm glad he opened up." Louis smiled. "But I'm afraid we can't take the credit for that. We didn't talk about you or your relationship last night. It must have been Scottie who turned him around."

"Scottie?" Hearing that name made her heart sink into her stomach. "Why was she there?"

"I don't know. She showed up that the bar we went to at the end of the night. He left the table and talked to her for a while."

"So he just went over and talked to her for a long time?" She didn't know what to think. While she was elated that Harvey finally decided to talk to her about his issues, she couldn't help but wonder. Did he also tell Scottie everything first? And if so, why did he feel like he could trust her with this when he didn't trust her?

Her mind was racing and she tried not to let her mind go to a dark, jealous place. But for some reason Scottie was a trigger for her. Maybe it was because she was the only other woman in Harvey's life that he had a real relationship with. Maybe it was because Scottie has known Harvey a lot longer than she has. Maybe it was because no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop comparing herself to Scottie in all areas of their life.

They were both attractive, though in different ways. They were both smart. Obviously Scottie was smart since she graduated first in her class at Harvard law. They both had great careers, although Scottie didn't have her name on a letterhead like she did. While she knew it wasn't fair to compare herself to someone that she didn't know personally, and especially since it was an ex-girlfriend of her husbands', she couldn't help it.

She knew Harvey loved her and when he told her about his college relationship with Scottie, he told her that it wasn't the same kind of relationship like the one he had now with her. Maybe it was the hormones. Maybe it was the fact that they were just now getting back on track after being estranged for a while. Either way, she couldn't help but be upset about this.

She must have been quiet for too long because Louis was looking at her strangely. "I'm sorry Louis. What did you say?"

"I was just answering your question." He replied. "They were talking for at least twenty minutes or so. Are you ok?"

"Yeah." She plastered a fake smile on her face. "What happened when they were finished talking?"

"He kissed her on the cheek." He explained. "She left and he said he needed to go home to you because you haven't been spending much time together lately. Why do I get the feeling that I just said something I shouldn't have?"

"It's ok." She assured him. "I appreciate you telling me about it."

"Ok."

She could see that Louis wasn't convinced that he had done the right thing by answering her questions so she decided to drop the subject. "Now, you are getting married tomorrow! I am so excited for you!"

"Thanks! I'm pretty excited too." He beamed from ear to ear. "As soon as I am done briefing you on things, I'm going home. I want to see if there is any kind of last minute details or errands that Shelia needs help with."

"That's a wonderful thing to do." She smiled. "Shelia is a very lucky woman."

"I'm the lucky one." Louis corrected her. "Trust me. I don't know what I would do without her."

"Well let's get started with the rundown of your clients so you can get home quicker." She chuckled.

"Sounds good to me!" Louis replied, handing her a packet. "I have it all broken down into sections. Let's start with the first one, which are the priority clients. These are the clients that I drop everything for, no matter what…"

* * *

"You've been quiet." Harvey noted as they sat in the car on the way home. They left work early so they could surprise the kids. He grabbed a hold of her hand. "Is anything wrong?"

"Nope." She shook her head and looked at their joined hands. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Just some stuff." She shrugged.

He looked at her face and could tell there was something bothering her. He wondered what could have happened between the time they got to work and the time they left. Only a couple of hours had passed. When they parted earlier she was so happy.

He wondered if it was a case. But she usually didn't let cases affect her that much so he shot that theory down. He wondered if Louis said something to upset her, but he couldn't think of what would upset her.

He started rubbing circles on her hand with his thumb. "Are we ok?"

"Yeah." She gave him a small smile. "We're ok."

"Are you nervous about telling the kids about the baby?"

"A little." She admitted. "Only because I don't know how they will take the news."

"I think it will be fine." He knew there was a chance the kids may not like the news, but he had to think positive. He looked over at her face. "That's not what's bothering you though, is it?"

"It's nothing." She shook her head.

"Rebecca…what happened to telling each other everything?"

She sighed. "It's probably nothing."

"Still…"

"How about this?" She interrupted. "If it is still bothering me later tonight we can talk about it then. Ok?"

He had to admit that was a fair compromise. "Alright."

* * *

"So Ethan, how was your day at school?" Harvey asked as they sat around the table eat the pizza that had just been delivered a few minutes ago.

"It was ok." Ethan shrugged.

He looked at Rebecca, who gave him a small smile and realized that answer was probably all he would get from Ethan right now.

Over the past few weeks Ethan had gotten very close to Rebecca. And part of that closeness was a sense of protectiveness that Ethan felt for her. The boy was aware of the problems in their marriage and had rightfully taken Rebecca's side.

He couldn't begrudge Ethan for that. After all, he was the one who was wrong. Treating Rebecca like a virtual stranger and ignoring her was a horrible thing to do. Truthfully he was proud of Ethan for siding with Rebecca and giving him the cold shoulder. It proved that Ethan had been taught a good sense of right and wrong.

Now he just had to figure out a way to make amends with his nephew.

He turned his head towards Olivia. "How was your day?"

"It was fabulous!" Olivia giggled. "Mrs. Bates gave us all A's on our spelling test because she felt bad that there was an unannounced fire drill during our testing time. And then during recess Brian gave me a rock. It's a big rock, but it is a little dirty so I think it needs a bath. But it's still a pretty rock. I'm just not sure what to do with it yet. I thought about putting it underneath my pillow but I might just put it on my nightstand. I'm still not sure."

"Who is Brian?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"He's my boyfriend!" Olivia giggled again.

"Since when do you have a boyfriend?" He didn't like the sound of this and looked at Rebecca. It looked like she was trying not to laugh. "Did you know about this?"

"About Brian?" Rebecca asked. "Yes. He's been her boyfriend for about a week now."

"I think you are too young for a boyfriend." He told his niece.

"I am not!" Olivia yelled.

"Olivia, why don't you explain to Uncle Harvey what having a boyfriend means to you?" Rebecca suggested.

"Ok." Olivia sighed. "It means we sit together at lunch and trade our food. We also play together at recess."

"See?" Rebecca chuckled. "That's not so bad, is it?"

"I guess not." He begrudgingly agreed. "I'm still not sold that it is a good idea though."

"You aren't going to win this one, Harvey." Lily spoke up, laughing.

"Ok." He held his hands up in mock surrender.

"So what is going on now?" Ethan asked a few minutes later.

"What makes you think something is going on?" Lily asked.

"It's just a feeling I have." Ethan replied.

"Well actually you are right." He smiled. "Something has happened. But for once it is a good something."

"In a few months, we are going to have a new family member." Rebecca spoke up, looking at Ethan and then Olivia. "I'm pregnant. So you two are going to have a baby cousin!"

"Seriously?" Olivia squealed. "This is the best news ever! Is it a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know yet." Harvey told her.

"I want it to be a girl!" Olivia smiled.

"You have a 50/50 chance of that." Lily spoke up.

"Ethan, what do you think?" Rebecca asked.

Ethan sighed. "Whatever. I'm full now. Can I be excused?"

"You barely touched your dinner." Harvey pointed out.

"But I'm full." Ethan argued.

"You can be excused." Rebecca told him.

Harvey watched as Ethan got up from his chair and stormed out of the room. Then he looked across the table at Rebecca.

"I'll go talk to him." Rebecca said, getting up from the table.

* * *

Since his door was already open, Rebecca knocked on Ethan's door frame. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." He replied, closing the book he was reading while sitting in the chair at his desk.

She went over and sat on his bed. "You aren't happy about this change, are you?"

Ethan turned his chair around to see her and sighed. "I don't know. I guess it makes sense you and Uncle Harvey would want to have your own children."

"Hey." She now realized what was bothering him. "You know that us having a baby doesn't change the way we feel about you and Olivia, right?"

"Sure it doesn't." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious!" She objected. "Uncle Harvey and I love you two more than you will ever know. While we don't want to ever take the place of your actual parents, we do love you like you were our own kids. We just consider ourselves your second set of bonus parents. We're always going to be there for you, supporting you and trying to give you everything you need. But the thing you have to remember is that it doesn't matter if we have one biological kid or six…we love you and Olivia. Nothing will ever change that."

"You promise?" Ethan asked.

"I promise." She told him, motioning for him to get out of his chair so she could give him a hug.

"Ok." He sighed. "In that case, I'd like the baby to be a boy."

She laughed. "Like Uncle Harvey told Olivia, you have a 50/50 chance of that."


	57. Chapter 57

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Seven

"Can we talk?" Harvey asked, standing in the doorway of his mom's art studio.

"Of course we can." Lily put down the paint and looked over at him. "What's on your mind?"

"I wanted to apologize to you. I know ever since Marcus died I haven't been there for you or really let you be there for me either…"

"It's ok." She assured him.

"No it isn't." He argued. "You and Rebecca keep saying that but it really isn't ok. I have been living in my own little world for far too long and I need to start focusing more on what is going on around me. I need to focus more on my family that is still around."

"You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that." She smiled.

"I'm not really ready to tell you what was bothering me. I will tell you eventually. I just…"

"It's ok if you feel like you need some time." She assured him, coming over and giving him a hug. "Are you at least talking to Rebecca about it now?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Good. So then as long as you are talking about it and working through it, I will be happy." She smiled.

"Thanks." He smiled.

Lily pulled away. "You know maybe it isn't my place to say anything, but I don't think Rebecca will say it."

"Say what?" He was no curious about what his mom had to say.

"She's been under quite a bit of stress lately. I've been worried about her. Granted I was worried about you more. But I have been worried about her too. She has been pushing herself so hard to do everything—work, take care of the house, the kids, me. She's been doing it all while being pregnant and I know she has been worried about losing the baby. She was also worried about losing you."

"I know I haven't been fair to her." He admitted.

"She's been up before me every day and she goes to bed late every night." Lily explained. "I honestly don't see how she keeps up with this pace."

"I thought taking over most of her clients would help."

"I think it has to a certain extent." She nodded. "But think about this. How do you think this house got furnished?"

"I figured she hired someone." He honestly didn't think about it much and just took for granted the fact that there was furniture and the pace was decorated.

"No." She shook her head. "Rebecca has been doing it by herself. She's been doing a lot of things behind the scenes to make sure that everything here is running smoothly. She is also bending over backwards to make sure that Ethan and Olivia are comfortable and settling into new routines."

"I didn't realize."

"I don't want to make you feel bad about things." She told him. "I just want you to get the full picture of what it has been like for her because I know her well enough to know that she will downplay things."

"I appreciate that." He nodded. "And I am grateful that she has had you in her life. I know she loves having you around."

"You chose well." Lily smiled.

"Trust me." He chuckled. "I am aware of how lucky I am. It's why I want to make up for everything with her now in any way I can."

"She loves you." Lily pointed out. "I don't think it will be too hard to get back on her good side again."

He didn't want to spend the whole conversation solely talking about himself. "So I haven't talked to you about how things are going in a while. I feel bad about it. How are you doing?"

"The truth is I've been better." Lily admitted. "I've also been worse though."

"How are the treatments going?"

She shrugged. "The tests don't show any real change yet. Rebecca keeps saying that at least there isn't any change for the worse so she considers it a success. I'm a little more skeptical."

"What does the doctor say?"

"He says it is still too soon to tell if the treatment is working the way they hope." Lily explained.

""But you don't think they are working?" He surmised.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I just know that this family has had a lot of bad luck lately. I find it a little hard to be optimistic about my odds to stay around for long."

"Then I guess you just need to let Rebecca and I be optimistic for you." He smiled. "Because you have to be around to watch our child grow up."

"I would love that." She chuckled. "But nothing is guaranteed."

"True." He nodded. "But I have a good feeling about this trial."

"I'll try to have a good feeling about it too." She promised.

* * *

Rebecca looked up when she heard Harvey open the door to their bedroom and walk inside. "Hey." She smiled.

"Hey." He came over and sat on the side of the bed. "What are you reading?"

"I'm just looking over the notes from Louis about his clients." She chuckled.

"Those aren't notes." He laughed. "That's practically a manifesto."

"Louis is very thorough with his notes." She told him. "He's going to be gone for two weeks. I think he just wanted to make sure I had more than enough information so I don't have to bother them while they are in Turkey and Greece."

"That makes sense. I know I didn't want anyone interrupting us on our honeymoon." He agreed.

"I remember." She grinned. "You practically threatened everyone at the office with death if they bothered us with anything that wasn't an absolute emergency."

"I just wanted your undivided attention." He grinned. "So I just talked to my mom."

"Good." She smiled.

"I didn't tell her anything about Marcus." He sighed. "I chickened out. But we had a good talk about her treatments and stuff."

"It's ok." She assured him, putting the packet on the nightstand and crawling over to sit next to him on the edge of the bed. "You don't have to tell her everything right now. I'm just thrilled you are talking to us now instead of avoiding and ignoring."

He sighed. "I really messed up lately, didn't I?"

She ran her hand through his hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You were grieving, and you grieved in a way you thought you needed to. It was wrong and it was unnecessarily painful for everyone, but I'm sure you thought you were doing what you needed to do."

"I was." He nodded. "I truly thought that this was the way to handle it. Now I realize I was wrong and I'm so glad it wasn't too late." He reached over and started to kiss her.

She returned the kiss, allowing him to gently push her down onto the bed. He started running his right hand up and down her body as his left hand cupped her cheek and she couldn't help but moan softly.

"You're incredible." He whispered. "I hope you know that."

She chuckled softly. "How so?"

"You are so accepting of me and my faults." He told her. "I'm really not sure why I doubted you in the first place."

"It was just a lapse in judgment." She chuckled. "It happens to all of us."

"You've also been holding down everything and everyone for a long time now. I'm sorry about that. And before you say it, it isn't fine and it isn't ok."

"Ok." She grinned. "It's alright."

He couldn't help but laugh at the loophole she exploited. "How did I ever get lucky enough to pick you up in that bar that night?"

"I thought we settled this. You are never going to stop rewriting our history, are you?" She chuckled. "I picked you up that night."

"Either way…" He trailed off. "It was the best night of my life."

"It was only one of the top 3 best nights of my life." She winked.

He laughed before turning serious again. "So I didn't want you to think I had forgotten. Are you still upset about whatever was bothering you in the car earlier?"

She sat up on the side of the bed and sighed. She was conflicted. A part of her wanted to tell him what was bothering her and get it out into the open. Then there was another part of her that didn't want to upset the good vibe they had going right now. However, she would be a hypocrite if she preached to Harvey about always being honest with each other and then she turned around didn't practice it herself.

"You're probably not going to like what I have to say." She sighed.

"In that case, I really need to know so we can deal with it." He also sat up on the side of the bed next to her.

"Ok. But don't say I didn't warn you." She nodded. "Whether it's right or it's wrong, I'm upset that you left Louis' bachelor party to talk to Scottie last night."

He groaned softly. "Louis told you that, didn't he?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I was thanking him for whatever he said to make you come home and talk like that and he told me it was Scottie I should thank instead."

"Rebecca…"

"Look, I'm glad that you finally opened up. I just can't help but wonder if you told Scottie everything."

"I didn't tell her everything." He explained. "I just told her that we were having issues because of my reaction to Marcus' death and I told her some of the things surrounding Marcus' death that I was having a hard time dealing with. She convinced me that I needed to come talk to you and I needed to trust you."

"So you needed your ex-girlfriend to tell you to talk to your wife even though multiple other people had told you that previously." She stated, getting up from the bed and walking over to the window. She leaned against it and put her arms across her body.

"I guess that is a very simplistic way of looking at it." He admitted.

"And you thought that telling your ex-girlfriend that you were having problems with your wife was a good idea."

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal that I talked to her. It wasn't like I spilled my guts about everything. I just told her the basics." He explained.

"But why did you feel comfortable talking to her before me?"

"I needed an impartial third party." He defended himself. "You are honestly mad about this?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Although I guess I'm more hurt than mad."

"It really shouldn't matter who I talked to about it if it means it helped me realize I needed to tell you everything, should it?"

"It probably shouldn't…but Scottie is the one exception."

"Why?" He scoffed. "What is so different about Scottie?"

"She is your ex-girlfriend! You've slept with her and she knows you really well." She explained. "How would you like it if I went to David and told him all about our problems?"

"I probably wouldn't like that." He admitted. "But I don't think of her as an ex-girlfriend. She isn't a threat to us. I think of her as a friend. It's just the same to me as if I was talking to Donna."

"Oh bullshit! It isn't the same thing!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"Why is me talking to Scottie about us any different than if I was talking to Donna?" He asked.

She put her put her hands on her hips. It was obvious he was getting frustrated with her.

"Oh I get it now." He smirked and laughed. "You're jealous."

"No." She pointed a finger at him. "You don't get to make this into a joke or play it off like that."

"But you are jealous."

"I…I just don't think you should be discussing our marital issues with someone you've slept with. And I think that you should have been the one to tell me that you were talking to Scottie about Marcus and us…not Louis. Just like Donna shouldn't have had to be the one to tell me that Scottie was in town to begin with. That should have been you too."

"I didn't tell you because she doesn't matter to me like that." He reasoned. "Besides, if that is the criteria for why I shouldn't be talking to Scottie, you should be mad at me every time I talk to Donna since I slept with her too."

She froze in place at his last statement, confusion, anger and hurt swirled around in her brain. "Excuse me…What exactly do you mean by that? You slept with Donna?"

"Shit." He mumbled. "Look, Donna and I slept together once, over 15 years ago."

"And you never once thought that you should tell me about that either?" She scoffed, shaking her head.

"It was just one night that happened over a decade ago right before I came back here from the DA's office. It was long before I even met you. I didn't see the need to tell you about it because it didn't mean anything to me."

"Just what else are you keeping from me? Did you also sleep with Jessica or Rachel?" She asked softly.

"No." He shook his head. "Why would you ask me that? And why does this even matter? It's ancient history."

"Because I'm starting to think maybe I don't know anything about you at all."

"You know me." He assured her. "You know me better than anyone."

"I'm finding that very hard to believe right now." She shook her head. "I thought I knew everything about you. But now…"

"Rebecca…" He reached out to her but she took several steps back.

"You know it was bad enough that you didn't tell me about everything going on with Marcus. But I can understand why you didn't. I can understand that you felt overwhelmed. I understand that you felt extremely guilty and it pushed you to your breaking point. After everything that has happened and all the changes we've gone through, I can understand it. Hell, I'm still overwhelmed with everything too some days. So I can understand that you didn't want to burden me with it."

She paused for a moment.

"And I can even understand how that pushed you to pull away from me. I mean, I know I've pulled away from you a little lately too because of everything. But dammit Harvey…"

"I'm so sorry." He apologized. "You have to know by now that I love you more than anything else in this world."

"You love me, but you clearly don't trust me enough to tell me everything." She scoffed. "Look, I understand a lot but I can't understand why you wouldn't tell me about Scottie and I certainly can't understand why you wouldn't tell me about Donna."

"Ok." He held up his hands. "I should have told you about Donna and I should have told you that I talked to Scottie. But it really isn't that big of a deal…"

"Well maybe it isn't a big deal to you." She shook her head. "But to me…it's not just that. It's the fact that you are able to keep these kinds of things from me. I thought we had told each other everything. But that's not the case apparently."

"Please don't be mad about this." He asked.

"I can't help it." She shrugged. "I wish I could not be mad, but it's not possible right now."

"Rebecca…"

"I'm tired and we have Louis' wedding tomorrow. We should get some sleep." She interrupted him, going over to her side of the bed and climbing under the covers.

"Can we talk about this some more?" He asked. "I don't want to go to sleep with you mad at me."

"I can't tonight." She shook her head. "I'm sorry Harvey. I just can't."

"Ok."

She could see he wasn't happy about not being able to talk about it right now. But she couldn't talk about it right now without anger. Maybe it was wrong to be angry but she couldn't help it. It wasn't even the fact that he slept with Donna. He was allowed to have a past and it happened before he met her. It's not like he slept with Donna last week or something. And she knew in her heart that he didn't have any romantic feelings for Donna. What angered her was that he never told her about it.

They were falling into a pattern where she told him everything and then she is under the impression he told her everything, only then she later finds out he was keeping things from her because he was filtering out what he determined to be important and what wasn't. But that wasn't fair.

"Are you coming to bed?" She asked.

"I thought you wouldn't want me to." He admitted.

"Just because I'm mad doesn't mean I want you to sleep somewhere else." She explained.

"Ok."

She watched as he got undressed and then slid into bed next to her. Once he was in bed with her, she turned onto her side and turned out the light. It was weird laying there next to him and not being in his arms. But she wasn't going to be the one to initiate it.

It was at least a few more minutes before she felt his shift in the bed, moving over to her side so he could spoon her. He gently put his arm around her, letting it rest on her stomach before he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I love you." He whispered. "I hope you know that."

"I do know that." She whispered back. "And I love you too."


	58. Chapter 58

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Eight

"Are you sure it's ok that we are going to Louis' wedding and leaving the kids with you?" Rebecca asked Lily. "You just had your treatment yesterday. I don't want to…

"For the tenth time, it's fine." Lily assured her. "Go and have some fun."

"I doubt it will be much fun." She scoffed.

"Things will be ok." Lily assured her, giving her a hug.

"I'm not certain of anything right now." She said, trying not to cry. This morning she told Lily about the argument with Harvey last night and how she wasn't looking forward to going to Louis' wedding.

Lily pulled away and touched her face. "Trust me. He loves you and you love him. It will work itself out."

"Are you ready?" Harvey asked, appearing in the doorway. "Ray is here."

"Yeah. I'll be right out." She replied, not turning to face him. She waited a moment and took a few deep breaths. "Did I smear my makeup?"

"No." Lily smiled. "Now go."

"Thanks." She left the living room and grabbed her purse from the table by the front door before heading out to the car. The door to the car was open, and Harvey was holding it open for her. It was something that Harvey usually did for her, primarily so that he could steal a kiss and brush his hand across her body as she passed by him. He hadn't been doing that for the last couple of weeks though.

While she was glad he was starting to do the little things like that again, she couldn't bear to encourage him right now because she was still hurt and angry. Without hesitating, she walked around the back of the car and got in on the other side, away from where Harvey was holding the door open.

Once inside, she rested her purse on her lap and stared out the window. She thought about trying to start a conversation with him, but didn't know what to say right now. It surprised her when he said something.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She replied, still staring out the window. She had chosen a blush colored dress. It was starting to get tighter around her belly and she knew this would likely be the last time she would be able to wear it for a while.

"Hard to believe Louis is actually getting married in front of 300 people today. I didn't realize he even knew 300 people." His voice was soft, with a hint of teasing in it.

"Yeah, well Louis is a good man and some men don't mind making themselves vulnerable in front of a large group of people." She knew it was horrible to throw that in his face and she felt terrible about saying it as soon as the words left her mouth. She knew he still felt bad about the fact that they never got to have the wedding they originally planned. But she was unable to stop herself. There was too much anger in her to choose her words carefully right now.

"So…you're still mad at me."

"What tipped you off?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Rebecca, can we please just talk about it…"

"Harvey, I'm not talking about this right now. We're going to Louis' wedding and we should focus on that. It's not the right time for this." She interrupted, going back to looking out the window. "Let's just try to have a good time, ok?"

"Ok." He sighed.

* * *

"Harvey, I just want to let you know how much it means to me that you are up here being my best man." Louis said as they stood up at the front of the altar a short time later.

"Of course, Louis. I know I have teased you a lot over the years, and I may someday deny saying this but I do consider you to be a good friend."

"That is the best wedding gift you could have ever given me." Louis smiled.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Then I guess I can get a refund for the mudding excursion Rebecca and I got you while you are on your honeymoon in Turkey."

"Don't you dare!" Louis shook his head. "You actually got us mudding in a Turkish bath?"

"Yes, we did. Well, Rebecca did. I just signed my name at the bottom of the card." He said, briefly looking over at the man before returning his gaze to Rebecca. She was sitting in the second row on Louis' side, sandwiched between Jessica and Rachel. She was close enough that he could hear bits and pieces of her conversation with Jessica. It seemed like they were talking about firm business. He wasn't in the mood to listen so he tuned them out, instead focusing on Rebecca.

He watched as she spoke to Jessica. To everyone else it seemed like she was having a great time. But he knew her well enough to know how to read her face. Although there was a smile on her face throughout the conversation, he could see that the smile wasn't genuine because it didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes were the most expressive part of her face and he could normally read her mood by one look.

Right now her eyes were displaying pain, anger and sadness. And it was all directed towards him.

The past month or so had been stressful to say the least. With everything that had happened, he should have been leaning on her for support. Instead, he had been treating her like shit and blaming her for things that weren't her fault. It had to stop. He had to find a way to make her forgive him for his behavior towards her.

Going to Scottie for advice wasn't the greatest decision he could have made, even though it did help him see he needed to trust in Rebecca and tell her everything. But he could see how she thought it wasn't fair to her that he went to Scottie first. And he should have told her about his past with Donna.

But to be honest, he didn't have any feelings left for Scottie except friendship and he certainly didn't have any romantic feelings for Donna. So it never occurred to him that he should make things awkward by exposing the one night he shared with Donna to Rebecca. Those two were friends and he didn't want to hurt their friendship.

Shit.

He should have warned Donna that Rebecca knew about that night. That was going to bite him in the ass sooner or later.

After thinking about it for most of the night last night and watching her sleep, he came to the conclusion that her anger might not be solely about Scottie or even Donna. It could also be anger about the way he treated her after Marcus' death. But she probably didn't feel comfortable lashing out about that to him, so when this came along she might have subconsciously channeled her anger to this issue.

He couldn't blame her for it. This probably seemed like a safer thing to be mad at him about. Or maybe she really was pissed off about Scottie and Donna. Either way, he had to find a way to get back on her good side again. A smile formed on his face as he thought of one way he could try later.

"Do you have any last minute words of wisdom for me?" Louis asked as the music started, cueing the beginning of the ceremony.

He looked over at the man and sighed. "No matter what, tell Shelia everything…even if you think it doesn't matter and it seems stupid. It might matter to her and it's best to share everything so there isn't any chance of it coming back to bite you in the ass later."

"Thank you Harvey. That's actually good advice." Louis smiled.

He turned back and saw Shelia coming down the aisle in her wedding dress. But seeing Shelia reminded him of his wedding day with Rebecca.

" _Are we really doing this?" Rebecca laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Are we really going to get married today?"_

" _We don't have to if you don't want…"_

 _She interrupted him with a kiss. "I want. Of course I want to marry you. I just…didn't wake up thinking today would be our wedding day."_

" _Well the judge is going to be here in thirty minutes." Harvey informed her. "So you have thirty minutes to change your mind."_

" _Oh I'm not changing my mind." She assured him. "But I do want to change my clothes and I think you should too."_

" _You don't want me to get married in sweatpants?" He laughed._

" _No. As good as you look, and as much as I love the way those sweatpants hang on your hips, that's not appropriate clothing for a wedding." She shook her head. "So why don't you go get whatever suit you want to wear from the closet and then stay out of the bedroom while I get dressed?"_

" _Or we could both go into the bedroom and get undressed, then dressed again together." He suggested with a wink._

" _No." She shook her head. "You don't get any more sex until after we're married. Besides, it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding."_

" _Fair enough." He nodded. "Ok. Do you want to help me pick out the suit?"_

" _Nice try. But I'm pretty sure that if you get me into that bedroom, I'm going to run out of time to get ready before the judge gets here." She laughed. "So no thank you."_

" _You know me too well." He leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her lips. "I'll be right back out."_

 _He went into their bedroom and headed straight for the closet. It only took him a few moments to figure out what suit he was going to wear. He had to go with her favorite, the dark blue three-piece suit. She was a sucker for the vest and always liked it when he wore one with his suits. He then picked out the tie she got for him about six months ago. It had quickly become his lucky tie. Every time he wore it, good things happened to him. He knew today would be no exception._

 _He came out of the room with everything he needed and placed the suit on the couch. "Alright. The bedroom is now yours."_

" _Thank you." She smiled, walking up to him with a box in her hands. "So I was going to give this to you the night before our wedding before I went to stay with Donna. But now is a good time for it too."_

 _He took the box from her and slowly opened it. Inside were two cufflinks, one with a cursive H and one with a cursive S. Each cufflink had a small diamond above and below the letter. He pulled the S one out of the box and looked at it._

" _Do you like it?" She asked._

 _He put it back in the box and gently laid it on top of the suit before wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love them. Thank you."_

" _You're welcome." She replied, leaning in for a kiss._

" _I do have something for you too." He told her, releasing her and walking over to his wall of records. He reached behind a couple of the records and pulled out a long, black box. He walked back over and handed it to her._

" _You didn't have to." She smiled as she took the box._

" _I wanted to." He assured her, watching as she opened the box. He had gotten her a diamond tennis bracelet._

" _It's beautiful." She whispered, leaning in and kissing him. "Thank you."_

" _It's not nearly as beautiful as you." He whispered._

" _Stop trying to charm your way into my pants." She teased, whispering into his ear. "I need to go get changed."_

" _Alright." He laughed. "But after we get married?"_

" _Harvey, after we get married I don't see any reason for either of us to wear any clothes, especially not pants." She walked towards the bedroom and then turned to wink at him before disappearing inside._

It took him a moment to realize that he had been stuck in his memories for the entire ceremony. The cheers from the guests as Louis and Shelia kissed alerted him to that fact. He looked over at Rebecca, who was staring at him.

He smiled at her, slightly disappointed when she didn't smile back before looking over at Louis and Shelia.


	59. Chapter 59

Skyfall

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Rebecca approached their table at the reception, noticing that Harvey got in front of her so he could pull out her chair. She looked over at him. "Thank you." Then she sat down in her reserved seat next to Rachel. She watched as Mike sat next to Donna and Charles. Harvey sat down on her other side and Jessica was next to him, with her boyfriend Jeff on her right.

"I thought the ceremony was beautiful." Rachel stated after everyone was seated.

"I agree." Donna nodded. "They did a nice job of planning it."

"We should do a toast to them." Mike said, grabbing the Champagne that was in front of him.

Rebecca watched as everyone picked up the glasses in front of them. She couldn't drink because of the baby, a fact that their friends were not aware of right now. As much as she didn't want to steal the spotlight of Louis' wedding day she realized that this news was going to come out now. There was no way everyone would be oblivious to the fact that she wasn't drinking. Someone was bound to notice.

She picked up her water glass and held it up for the toast.

"To Louis and Shelia." Mike toasted. "May none of us ever be asked to go mudding again since he has a wife to do that with now!"

Everyone laughed as they clinked their glasses with each other.

"Hey…" Rachel said softly. "You aren't drinking?"

"Nope." She shook her head.

"Oh my God! Is it because you are…"

"Yes." She chuckled.

"Really?"

She watched Rachel's eyes get wide as saucers.

"Yes, but I don't want to upstage Louis so let's just keep it…"

"You guys!" Rachel spoke up. "Rebecca has something important to say."

"Rachel…" She groaned.

"I'm sorry." Rachel apologized. "But this is great news and I couldn't help myself."

"Ok." She looked over at Harvey to see if he had a problem with her telling everyone now. Seeing him nod his head, she turned back to the rest of the group. "Well we weren't going to say anything about it today. So please don't tell Louis yet because I don't want to take away from his day…but I'm pregnant."

"Seriously?" Mike blurted out. "That's awesome!"

Everyone seemed to be saying their congratulations at once and she looked over at Harvey, who was beaming. He put his arm around her chair and lightly stroked the exposed skin on her arm with his thumb. As she looked around the table at their friends who were so happy for them and then back at Harvey, who looked like he was going to burst with pride, she forgot about their problems for a moment. She clung to this feeling of happiness for as long as possible, smiling at her friends.

After a few minutes everyone's excitement died down except for Rachel, who was peppering her with questions.

"How far along are you?" Rachel asked.

"I'm just past the first trimester." She answered.

"Do you want some of my maternity clothes?"

"Sure." She agreed. "That would be nice. Thank you."

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. She had always thought that she wanted to have a boy first, but now that she was pregnant she didn't really care if it was a boy or a girl. She just wanted it to be healthy.

Answering all of Rachel's questions was getting tiresome, but it was a good way for her to be able to legitimately avoid Harvey and their issues.

* * *

Harvey pushed the food around on his plate. The food was good, but he was just too lost in his own thoughts to enjoy it. Rebecca was still talking to Rachel about pregnancy stuff. It seemed like Rachel was never going to be done asking a million questions. So he had talked to Jessica and also gotten to know Jeff a little. He didn't have a clear picture of the kind of guy Jeff was yet because he seemed a little too guarded. But he did notice that Jessica was happy and that was a good start.

Now he was just waiting for Rachel to stop monopolizing Rebecca's time so that he could try to talk to his wife. He didn't begrudge Rachel being so excited about the pregnancy. It was actually nice to have their friends know about it. Although Donna had known about it for a while and he told Jessica a couple of weeks ago, it was nice to have it out there and not be a secret anymore.

He really wanted to talk to Rebecca. In the meantime, he let his thoughts wander back to their wedding day.

 _Harvey stood in the living room with Judge Murphy. He considered Patrick Murphy a friend. Over the years they had traded favors with each other several times. He helped with Patrick's first divorce and other legal matters that came up. So when he called this morning and asked him to come over to officiate their wedding, Patrick only asked one thing—what time would be best for them._

 _He was getting nervous though. Patrick's second wife was also serving as their witness and she was currently in the bedroom helping Rebecca get ready. But they had been in there for over ten minutes and he was getting anxious that something might be wrong._

" _You ready for this, Specter?" Patrick chuckled._

" _I'm more than ready." He nodded._

" _Never thought of you as the marrying type. I thought you would die a confirmed old bachelor."_

" _I didn't think I was the marrying type either." He admitted, looking over at his friend. "But if you knew Rebecca, you would understand why I changed my tune."_

" _She appeared in my court room once a few months back. She seems like a very smart lawyer."_

" _Oh you have no idea." He smiled. "I swear, someday soon she will be a name partner."_

" _I don't doubt you. You wouldn't choose to be tied down to someone who wasn't extraordinary. So she must be special." Patrick grinned. "It's just nice to see you happy."_

" _It's nice to be this happy." He was about to say something else when Susan, Patrick's wife, came out of the bedroom._

" _Alright. If you are ready, she is ready." Susan said with a smile on her face._

" _I'm beyond ready." He stated, watching as Susan poked her head into the bedroom and motioned for Rebecca to come out._

 _He saw her come out of the bedroom with a huge smile on her face. Her hair was pulled back in the front but there were still a couple of loose tendrils framing her face. He loved that hairstyle on her. It was one of his favorites because if there was wind he got a chance to push the loose hair out of her face, also giving him an excuse to cup her cheek with his hand and bring her close for a kiss._

 _He saw she was wearing a long, white halter top dress. She looked like an angel and he couldn't stop staring at her as she walked over to him. He winked at her as they stood together in front of Patrick._

" _We are here today in this living room to join you two in holy matrimony. Ultimately t_ _he essence of marriage lies in committing oneself to the other person entirely as a friend, confidant, companion, team member and lover. This decision should never be made lightly, but should be considered with respect and reverence. You stand here now ready to pledge yourselves to each other."_

" _Do you, Harvey Reginald Specter, take Rebecca Elizabeth Monroe to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise from this day forward to be a faithful husband, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as you shall live?"_

" _I do." He smiled._

" _And do you, Rebecca Elizabeth Monroe, take Harvey Reginald Specter to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise from this day forward to be a faithful wife, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as you shall live?"_

" _I do." She said, never taking her eyes off of him._

" _Do you have the rings?" Patrick asked._

" _Shit." He cursed. "I knew there was something we were forgetting."_

" _It's fine." Patrick told them. "We can skip that part. The I do's are the most important thing."_

" _I'm sorry." He apologized._

" _Like he said, it's fine." She smiled._

" _Since there are no rings, we can skip to the good part. By the power vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."_

" _Finally." Harvey grinned before taking her in his arms and placing a slow kiss on her lips. He may have lingered a little too long because Patrick eventually cleared his throat. He reluctantly let go of her, still keeping an arm around her waist._

" _Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Specter." Susan spoke up._

"Harvey."

He looked over to his left and saw Mike standing next to him.

"Let's go get a drink from the bar." Mike suggested.

He saw that Rebecca and Rachel were still talking pregnancy and sighed. "Sure."

It wasn't until they got to the bar and ordered drinks that Mike spoke again.

"Rachel can talk about pregnancy and kids for hours. I thought maybe we could give them some time."

"Good thinking." He nodded.

"So, the great Harvey Specter is going to be a father." Mike grinned. "How are you feeling about that, old man?"

"Scared out of my mind at times." He admitted with a laugh. "I mean, spending all this time with Ethan and Olivia has been good. I've learned a lot. I'm definitely less afraid, but I don't know anything about babies…"

"You're going to be fine." Mike told him with a laugh. "I know it. Besides, no matter what the kid will have Rebecca as a mom so it won't be screwed up entirely."

"Gee, thanks for the pep talk." He scoffed before rolling his eyes.

"Is that what I was supposed to be doing? Oops." Mike sighed. "So how are things between you two?"

"Honestly, I thought things were getting better." He started to explain. "But then last night we had an argument and things are strained again between us. I'm not sure how I let things get this bad between us."

"Maybe it had to do with the fact that you shut down on her for weeks?" Mike suggested.

"Well I know that." He nodded. "But I thought we were working it out. Our relationship just seems to be collapsing in on itself now. I don't know how to fix it."

"It will be ok." Mike told him. "You love each other and that's all that matters in the end."

"See? That was a much better pep talk." He laughed.

"I'm glad." Mike laughed. "I worked hard on that one."


	60. Chapter 60

Skyfall

Chapter Sixty

"Isn't this our song?" Harvey asked as he stood next to Rebecca's chair later on during the reception. Rachel had finally gotten all of her questions out of the way and was out dancing with Mike. So he figured this was a good time to approach his wife.

"How did you get them to play this?" She asked as she listened to the opening chords of the song.

"Oh I have my ways." He smirked. He may have ended up paying the band a very large tip to get them to play this song, but it was worth it if it meant he could dance with her. Maybe then they could talk. "Can I have this dance?"

"Did you call and ask Scottie what kind of gesture she thought might make me forgive you? Or did you just go straight to Donna since she is here and it is more convenient for you?"

"Rebecca…please? I'm trying here."

"I'm sorry. That wasn't nice to say." She stood up and faced him. "But Harvey…"

"Please dance with me?" He asked again. "Don't make me have to get on my knees and start begging, because I will if that is what it will take to get you to dance with me."

"You don't have to beg. I'll dance with you." She said, following him out to the dancefloor.

He put his arms around her waist, becoming slightly disappointed when she kept some distance between them. She seemed more interested in looking around the ballroom than his face.

He thought back to their wedding night.

 _He brought two drinks over to the couch, where Rebecca was sitting. After Patrick and his wife left, they ended up going straight to the bedroom, only coming out when the Chinese food they ordered arrived._

" _Thanks." She smiled, grabbing her glass. "What should we toast to?"_

 _He smiled at her and held his glass up. "To us and a very long marriage full of satisfying nights together in bed, lazy mornings together and being a complete ass-kicking team at home and at work."_

" _I'll definitely drink to that." She grinned as she clinked her glass with his._

 _He went over to the stereo and turned on some music. Hearing one of his favorites from his father fill the room, he went over and placed his glass on the coffee table._

" _Isn't this our song?" He smiled, holding out his hand for her._

" _Harvey…" She laughed and took his hand. "We don't have a song."_

" _It's our wedding night. Isn't it time we change that?"_

" _You do have a point there and I do love this song." She smiled, letting him pull her to a clear spot on the floor so they could dance._

 _He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could while they swayed to the rhythm._

 _Nobody_ _  
_ _nobody but you, baby_ _  
_ _Nooooo_ _  
_ _Nobody but you, baby_

 _When I was down and out_ _  
_ _I need some company_ _  
_ _When I didn't know who to turn to_ _  
_ _I was all alone_ _  
_ _I need some kind of love_ _  
_ _Gonna help me see things through_ _  
_

" _I'm sorry that things didn't turn out the way you thought it would." He apologized._

" _Well I certainly didn't anticipate today being my wedding day when I woke up this morning." She admitted. "But today was the best day of my life."_

" _I have to agree with that." He leaned in and gave her a kiss._

" _Can you imagine what everyone's reaction will be when they find out that the wedding is canceled?" She giggled._

" _They will be confused until we tell them what we did today." He pointed out. "I think Donna will be the only one too upset by it."_

" _Well at least we are still having the reception and using it as an excuse for a party with everyone." She added._

" _That will help smooth over any hurt feelings." He nodded._

 _Baby, I'm lost in your love_ _  
_ _You know what I mean?_ _  
_ _Lost in your love_ _  
_ _Make me see, who you are_

 _Baby_ _  
_ _Nobody but you_ _  
_ _Ohhhh_ _  
_ _Nobody but you_ _  
_ _Nobody_ _  
_

 _He twirled her, loving the sound of her laughter as she spun around before wrapping his arms around her again._

" _Why don't we do this more often?" She asked._

" _Get married? Or dance?" He grinned._

" _I meant dance." She laughed._

" _We can dance whenever you want, especially now that we have a song." He promised her._

 _I know times are hard_ _  
_ _And I know what you're going through_ _  
_ _But baby hold on_ _  
_ _Hold onto my love_ _  
_ _I will take you through_

 _Nobody_ _  
_ _Nobody_ _  
_ _Make me see, baby, who you are_ _  
_ _Baby, nobody but you_

" _Is it alright with you if we cut this dance short?" She asked._

" _Depends on the reason." He grinned._

" _Oh you'll like this reason." She smirked, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the bedroom._

"Rebecca?"

"What?" She asked softly.

"Are you going to be mad at me forever?" He whispered.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Are you going to go talk to Scottie about it to get some clarity before talking to me again?"

"That's not exactly fair…"

"Maybe not. I'm sorry." She interrupted him. "But you haven't exactly been fair lately either."

"No." He admitted. "I haven't. And I am sorry. I just…"

"You know this really isn't the time or the place to talk about it." She interrupted. "This is Louis' wedding day. Shouldn't we focus on that?"

"But you won't talk to me any other time." He complained. "I've tried this morning and you shut me out."

"It sucks, doesn't it?" She scoffed. "Wanting to talk to your spouse but having them rebuff you every time?"

"Rebecca, c'mon. We need to talk this through."

"Look, Harvey I will talk to you all night long if that's what you want if it is about Marcus. I'll do whatever you need to try to get past that. But maybe I don't want to talk about this issue yet. Ok?" She told him softly, starting to cry.

"Why don't you want to talk about it?" He questioned. "It isn't going to fix itself unless we talk about it."

"Maybe I'm afraid that if I talk to you right now I'll just say something that I can't take back. Maybe I'm afraid that everything we've worked so hard to build is just crumbling around us and I don't know how to fix it."

He moved his hand to dry some of the tears on her face but she pulled back, drying the tears herself.

"It's a good thing people normally cry at weddings." She laughed darkly. "I can say I'm just overcome with emotion."

The song was over now and she pulled out of his grasp. They stood there, staring at each other on the dance floor. He wasn't sure what to say anymore because he was afraid of the same things she was afraid of.

"If you'll excuse me." She sniffled and then left the dance floor.

* * *

Rebecca stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, trying to salvage her makeup. Thankfully she had put on waterproof mascara, so it wasn't that bad. She wasn't lying to Harvey when she told him she felt like their marriage was falling apart. The other morning, waking up in his arms, she felt like things were better. But now she didn't know how to trust that he was telling her everything because he had obviously left things out about his past.

She couldn't help it. She was also mad at him for avoiding her the past several weeks. How could she not be mad about that? She tried her hardest not to make him feel any worse than he already did about it, but their relationship ever since Marcus died sucked. There were so many times she just wanted to crawl into his arms and hear him tell her things were going to be alright, or just kiss him or talk to him.

She was a total mess without him. All she wanted to do was crawl under the covers and wake up when he was going to return to her. But she found a way to pick herself up and continue on with everything while he was able to completely detach from her and still function. He was able to take care of the kids when they were in Boston, he managed to get Marcus' financial affairs settled, and then he came back to the firm and stepped back into everything without missing a beat. Hell, if it hadn't been for Scottie who knows when he would have come back to her.

There were cracks forming in their marriage…cracks that were threatening the very foundation of their relationship. And she wasn't sure how to fix it. She had ideas, but wasn't sure he would go along with it.

She heard the door open and saw Donna walk over to her.

"Hey. Are you ok?" Donna asked, standing next to her. "I saw you come in here and you looked upset.

"Everything's great." She put on a fake smile and shoved her makeup back into her purse. Before she could leave, Donna lightly grabbed her wrist.

"What's going on?" Donna asked. "You're obviously upset. What's going on?"

"You mean Harvey didn't tell you?" She scoffed.

"No." Donna shook her head.

"I figured he would have let you know since you two are so close."

"What's going on?" Donna asked. "And why do I get the feeling you are mad at me? You have been avoiding me all day."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that you slept with him?" She asked in a soft tone.

"Who?"

"Harvey." She rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"Oh. Well because I didn't think it was important." Donna explained. "It happened a really long time ago and it was just one night long before he even met you. Besides, I figured it was Harvey's responsibility to tell you about it."

"Do you have feelings for him?"

Donna laughed softly. "No. I'm with Charles and I love him. I'm not interested in Harvey like that."

"Well did you have feelings for Harvey?"

"I won't lie to you. I did have feelings for Harvey for a very short time. I thought maybe there could be something between us. But that was a long time ago and I certainly don't have those feelings for him anymore. I have only ever loved him like a brother. So that's why I didn't say anything. It is a non-issue to me and should be to you too." Donna explained.

She saw Donna reach into her purse for something.

"In fact, I can prove to you that it is a non-issue if you can promise to keep a secret for a few days."

"What's going on?" She couldn't help but be curious now.

Donna pulled out a ring box. "I came in here to check on you and show you this. Charles proposed last night and I said yes. But, like you, I didn't want to overshadow Louis on his big day. You know how he gets about that type of thing."

"Yeah. He hates it because it reminds him of his childhood when Ester would overshadow him." She chuckled. Donna opened the ring box and she admired the ring. "It's exquisite."

"He has some pretty good taste, doesn't he?" Donna asked, turning the ring box around to look at it.

"Of course he does." She smiled. "He chose you. Congratulations." She hugged her friend.

"So see?" Donna pointed out as they pulled apart from the hug. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm very happily engaged."

"But he's keeping things from me." She told her friend. "First stuff with Marcus, then Scottie and now you. How am I supposed to trust him?"

"You have to trust that he loves you." Donna told her. "And at some point you have to decide whether or not you want to be mad at him or try to work through it."

"Do you ever get tired of being right?" She sighed.

"Not really." Donna grinned.

"I'm sorry for being hostile earlier." She apologized.

Donna gave her a hug. "It's ok. We can just blame pregnancy hormones."

She laughed. "Think I can use that with Harvey?"

"I think you could use any excuse and Harvey would forgive you in a heartbeat."

"I think it might be time to test that theory." She laughed. "I should probably go find him."

"You won't have to go far." Donna laughed. "He's standing right outside the door."

"Seriously?"

"Yep." Donna nodded.

"Then I guess it will be easy to find him." She took a deep breath before exiting the women's bathroom. Sure enough, Harvey was leaning against the wall with his head hanging down. His head popped up when the door shut and he stood up straight.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." She said.

"Do you want to just go home?" He asked. "I know you aren't having a good time and I'm not either."

"No. We should stay. They haven't even cut the cake yet." She shook her head and walked over to him.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Not really." She shrugged. "Are you ok?"

"Not really." He echoed her words. "I don't want there to be this distance between us."

"I don't either." She agreed.

"I want us to be happy again."

"I want that too."

"So how are we going to fix that?"

She thought about it for a moment before coming up with a plan. "I have an idea."

"Ok." He nodded. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."

She grabbed his hand and started leading him back into the ballroom. She knew her way around this place pretty well because it was one of the places Donna kept dragging her to her to when she was trying to help plan their wedding. This was the second choice venue in case the first choice was booked and Donna couldn't work her magic to get it unbooked. So it didn't take her long to navigate through the crowds of people to get where she wanted to be.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"You'll see." She told him, not looking back at him as she practically dragged him. They went out of the ballroom into a hallway. Then out to a private balcony. Thankfully there wasn't anyone out there.

"What are we doing out here?" He asked.

"We are going to hash this out."

"Right here?" He scoffed. "Isn't there somewhere else we could do this that isn't so public?"

"Not many people know about this place." She assured him. "It's a fairly private space."

"Ok." He nodded. "Where do we begin?"

Song Credit: Nobody But You by Charles Bradley


	61. Chapter 61

Skyfall

Chapter Sixty-One

"Where do we begin?" Harvey asked, staring at her.

"I don't really know." She admitted.

"I'll start." He sighed. "All day long I've been thinking back to our wedding day."

"That was a good day."

"The best day." He agreed. "But I know it wasn't exactly what you wanted it to be."

"It wasn't what I imagined but it was ok…"

"You've been saying that a lot lately." He pointed out.

"Saying what?"

"It's ok." He sighed. "It's been coming out of your mouth a lot lately, like a broken record. No matter what happens, you've been saying it's ok. I think I could probably tell you anything and you'd come back with 'it's ok'. And it isn't just lately. It's been that way for a long time now."

"What do you want me to say instead of it's ok?" She shrugged. "Do you want me to yell at you? Scream at the top of my lungs? What good would that do either of us?"

"I don't know." He shrugged back. "It just…I just…I know over the years you have made a lot of sacrifices for me. And I know that lately it doesn't seem like I am appreciative of it. But I am and I don't want you to think I'm taking you for granted…"

She scoffed. "Harvey, I'm going to stop you right there. I think I know what you are getting at. This anger I have isn't about that. Ok?"

"Then what is this about?" He sighed.

"Scottie intimidates me and I am jealous of her in many ways." Rebecca admitted without any preamble. "Ok? I could try to blame it on the pregnancy hormones and say they are making me crazy or paranoid but the truth is that's not the case. She has always intimidated me because she was able to hold your attention throughout college and afterwards. You obviously cared about her to be with her for so long and you maybe even loved her at some point. I thought I was the first woman you let into your heart but maybe I was wrong because you were able to tell her about this stuff with Marcus when you couldn't tell me and…"

He cut her off by closing the distance between them and kissing her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. After he stopped kissing her, he pulled away so he could look into her face.

"You are the only woman I've ever loved and the only woman I'll ever love." He told her. "I'm sorry that I've made it possible for you to doubt it for even a moment, but please don't ever doubt that again. Scottie…well she was more of an infatuation that I allowed myself to get involved in for too long. She and I…we weren't a healthy match. But it doesn't matter because I don't look at her that way anymore. In fact, the only woman I look at that way is you. You have nothing to be worried about."

"I know you wouldn't cheat on me." She told him, pulling away from him and going over to the railing. "But, and I know your ego will inflate because of this but I have to say it anyway, you are an incredibly good looking man. I mean, one could even use the word gorgeous. And there are women out there who may not respect your moral code…"

"Rebecca..." He chuckled. "It doesn't matter what other women think about me. Though I am glad to know you still think of me as gorgeous."

She grinned. "Don't get a big head about that."

"Too late." He smirked. "I love you and you are the one I chose to marry. You are the one that I want to be with."

"But you didn't tell me about Scottie being in town or your history with Donna." She pointed out. "I've told you about my history with men. You know all about my exes. There are no surprises waiting to blindside you there. My life before you has been an open book, but you obviously can't say the same."

"I definitely should have told you." He sighed. "And I'm sorry I never did. I didn't tell you about Donna because I didn't want to ruin the friendship you had with her."

"Donna and I are fine." She assured him. "We talked in the ladies room."

"Good."

"Why didn't you tell me about Scottie being in town?"

"I don't honestly know." He admitted, walking over to her. "I know that I didn't keep her from you out of any kind of malicious intent. I just…didn't want to get into it."

"I may have overreacted a little about you going to Scottie for advice." She admitted after a few moments.

"I shouldn't have done it though. It wasn't fair to you." He told her, grabbing a hold of both of her hands. "And I should have trusted you a long time ago with the stuff about Marcus. I was just afraid."

"I don't want you to be afraid of telling me anything."

"I just thought that you would leave me if you knew how cruel I was to him and how it shaped his mindset."

"Can I ask why you felt like you could talk to Scottie before you could talk to me?" She asked softly. "I mean if all you needed was someone to listen before you told me, you had so many other people you could have talked to first. Why Scottie of all people?"

"I thought about it while you slept last night." He explained. "I was ashamed of my actions and how I treated Marcus. I thought the people in my life I loved and cared about would turn away from me if they found out. But then I saw Scottie sitting there. I don't love or care about her as anything other than a friend. I don't think it was a completely conscious decision, but I think I chose her to talk to about it first because if the worst case scenario happened…if she was disgusted with me and wanted nothing to do with me after finding out…then I would know how you and everyone else would react. And she was expendable."

He knew it was a long-winded explanation but it was the truth. He didn't think it was intentional. But he used Scottie as an indicator of how others would behave after they found out. He watched Rebecca's face as she absorbed what he told her. After a moment he continued with his explanation.

"I needed to be able to gauge how you might react. I needed a test subject. I needed to see how bad of a reaction I'd get because you are the one person in my life that I can't lose. While it would hurt quite a lot if my mom decided never to speak to me again after finding everything out, I could handle it. I could handle it if all of our friends ended up hating me or judging me. But the thing is I needed a practice run. I needed someone who would tell me impartially if I was responsible for Marcus' suicide. I didn't want to take the chance that my mom or our friends would abandon me. I could handle Scottie never wanting to talk to me again though. So I told her about some of the things going on. When she didn't have a bad reaction, I thought it might be safe to tell you everything. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I guess so."

"I honestly wasn't trying to hurt you by telling Scottie certain things before I told you."

"Ok." She nodded.

"And I'm not lying when I say I can't lose you." He continued. "I love you and I don't know what I would do without you."

"But you haven't had me these past several weeks." She pointed out. "I've been…well I haven't been good…but you've been seemingly fine—unhappy and stressed but functioning and fine."

"I'm just good at compartmentalizing." He explained. "There's been a hole in my heart where you should have been. I've been miserable without you."

"Most of the time it didn't seem like it had any kind of effect on you."

"It has." He assured her. "And as for the Donna thing…you're right. I should have told you about it."

"I know you aren't harboring some secret love for Donna or anything like that." She assured him. "I just…I find it concerning when I think I know I everything about you and then all of a sudden there's something like that which comes along and feels like a punch in the gut."

"That's understandable." He agreed. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Of course." She nodded.

"I think there is a part of you that is mad at me for the way I've treated you the past several weeks. But I think you don't want to let that show and so part of your anger about this is really anger about that." He explained.

She scoffed. "It's not that."

"Isn't it?" He asked. "Look, I've been horrible to you. And you have been incredible about not rubbing it in my face. But…"

"Harvey, I'm going to stop you right there." She interrupted. "It's like I just told you. Am I mad about the way you have acted the past several weeks? Of course I am! I'm not some kind of saint or doormat. I'm a human being with human feelings. I feel angry and abandoned. But that's not what this is. This anger I have right now is because I feel like you are too good at keeping secrets from me."

"You don't trust me?" He questioned.

"I want to." She explained. "I want it to be like before where I trusted you completely. But it's hard to. You said today you've been thinking a lot about our wedding day."

"That's right."

"Well I've been thinking a lot about what happened the day after our wedding. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do." He nodded.

 _Harvey walked down the hallway, holding Rebecca's hand. He stopped her right before the got to the door._

" _What is it?" She laughed. "Why did you stop?"_

" _Since we got married yesterday at home, I didn't get a chance to carry you over the threshold." He grinned. "I thought maybe I could do that now."_

" _It's sweet of you." She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "It's not necessary."_

" _I know." He whispered. "But I want to."_

" _Ok. Far be it from me to keep you from doing something you want to do." She smiled, leaning over and opening the door for him._

 _He scooped her up in his arms, enjoying the giggle that escaped from her. After clearing the doorway, he kicked the door closed with his leg._

" _You can let me down now." She told him._

" _I'm not ready to." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss._

" _No seriously." She laughed. "Harvey! Put me down."_

" _I will in a minute." He told her, walking through the place towards the bedroom._

" _You know you could have put me down on the couch or the floor." She reminded him._

" _I know." He grinned, gently putting her down on the bed and climbing on top of her._

" _I get it. This is why you wanted to carry me over the threshold. You wanted to get me right here." She laughed, putting her hands on his face and bringing her lips up to meet his._

" _It was just a secondary perk." He winked._

 _She gave him one more kiss before sliding away from him. "We will have plenty of time for that later. Let's finish what we started earlier."_

" _Ok." He reluctantly got up from the bed and pulled out two blue velvet boxes from his jacket. He handed her one. "Here. This one is mine."_

" _Good." She smiled. "We were lucky your jeweler was open at 11am on a Sunday."_

" _I may have paid him extra to open up for us." He admitted._

" _Really?"_

" _Yeah." He nodded. "I felt bad about not having rings yesterday. I didn't want to let you down twice in less than twenty-four hours. I didn't think that would bode well for our marriage."_

" _It wouldn't have let me down." She closed the gap between them and gave him a quick kiss. "But thank you."_

" _You're welcome." He kissed her._

" _Besides, I think it works out better." She smiled. "This way we get to do our own, personal and private vows and no one but us will know what they are."_

" _That's a perfect way to look at it." He smiled back at her. "Do you want to go first or do you want me to?"_

" _I'll go first." She volunteered, opening up the velvet box that was in her hand. She took out his ring and held it up. "Harvey, I could stand here and go on and on about how much I love you and how wonderful I think you are. But honestly I think that is something I should be doing on a regular basis. I don't think this is the right time for that. I think this is time that I should be telling you that I'm not going to run away. We are going to argue and we are going to have fights. Some of those fights are going to be bad and some are going to be stupid fights. It's just something that I know will happen because we are both stubborn and at times we both think we are right when we stand on opposite sides. And it's ok that we are going to fight. That's a part of life and a part of marriage."_

 _She paused for a moment before sliding the ring on his finger. "But I promise you this. When we fight, I may leave and go for a walk or clear my head, but I'm not going to leave you. And if I leave the room or go for a walk, it won't be because I'm thinking of leaving you. It will be because I want to cool down so I don't say or do something which will either hurt you or make the situation worse. We may go to bed still angry with each other. We may push the pause button and continue the fight a few hours or days later. There will be times that we don't like each other and we will be furious with each other. But we will always work through our problems together because you are now stuck with me."_

" _I wouldn't have it any other way." He interjected. "I want to be stuck with you."_

" _You say that now." She smiled. "But what about thirty years from now?"_

" _Thirty years from now, I'll be insanely happy that I've been married to you for thirty years." He grinned._

" _Good answer." She nodded. "So Harvey, this ring symbolizes that I will still love you even when I don't like you. I won't run away, even if things are difficult. And I am hopeful that you will do the same."_

" _I will." He promised._

" _Good." She smiled._

" _My turn." He opened his ring box and took out her wedding band. "I don't know how I got lucky enough to first of all find you and secondly manage to get you to fall in love with me. But somehow those two things happened and I couldn't be happier. I know I've talked a lot about us being a team. It is something I believe in and I take it very seriously. We are so much stronger when we work together than we are when we are apart. We need to work together, trust each other and tell each other everything. It's the only way we can survive. These rings are a symbol of our commitment to be a team."_

 _He put the ring on her finger and then brought her hand to his mouth to kiss it. "I know that in the past we've had issues being a team. I know that some of those issues have been mine. But I promise you I will work on not making the same mistakes again."_

" _I promise to try and work as a team too." She promised._

" _Is there anything else that you want to promise to each other?"_

 _She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I promise to always speak my mind."_

" _I promise to always do whatever I can to protect you."_

" _I promise that we won't let work come between us."_

 _He nodded. "That's a good one. I promise to continue working on not lashing out at you when I am angry."_

 _She leaned in and kissed him. "I think that is enough promising right now…unless your next promise was going to be that you were going to take me to bed right now."_

" _I can definitely promise that." He winked._


	62. Chapter 62

Skyfall

Chapter Sixty-Two

"You broke your promises to me." She pointed out. "You promised to tell me everything. You promised to be a team. But you haven't told me everything and we haven't been a team. You've been off on your own the past several weeks with your secrets and complete avoidance of your family."

"I know. I'm sorry about that."

She saw that he had the decency to look ashamed, but that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want him to be ashamed. She just wanted things to be good between them again.

"I understand why you were distant. I don't like it and I wish you had felt like you could talk to me. But I understand it. And I love you Harvey. I always have and I always will. I don't want there to be distance between us and I don't want to be angry with you. I want us to be happy."

"That's what I want too." He spoke up.

"But between Scottie, Donna and Marcus…I feel like there are cracks forming in our marriage."

"I agree and I don't know how to fix it." He admitted.

"There's really only one thing I can think of, but I don't know if you will like it." She hesitated to bring this up. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized this might be the answer to their problems.

"I'm willing to do anything to fix this." He assured her.

"Maybe we need to go see a therapist together." She suggested.

"You honestly think we need marriage counseling?" He scoffed. "Why is your answer to everything that I get into therapy? You suggested it after I told you about Marcus and now you're suggesting it for our marriage."

"Because I think it would help!" She explained. "Throughout our entire relationship we have tried to fix our problems ourselves. And we do an alright job fixing them for a while but then they just pop up again like the moles in a whack-a-mole game. We need to figure out a better way to communicate and trust each other."

"I trust you."

"Respectfully, I call bullshit on that." She said calmly. "If you truly trusted me, you would have told me about Marcus a long time ago. But you didn't tell me because you didn't trust me not freak out about it. You didn't trust me not to freak out about your past with Donna and you didn't trust me not to freak out about Scottie. So forgive me if I am having a hard time believing that you trust me."

"Well respectfully, you did freak out about Scottie and you did freak out about Donna." He pointed out, echoing her words.

"True. But it was more the fact that you didn't tell me about them sooner though." She argued. "Look, that doesn't really matter right now. What matters is how we are going to fix things. Our marriage in its current form isn't working and won't be sustainable long term. Surly you realize that."

"I know." He nodded.

"If our pipes weren't working we would call a plumber. If the lights weren't working we would call an electrician. How else are we going to fix what isn't working here except therapy?"

"I just don't want to go telling our private business to a stranger." He complained.

"I don't relish that much either, but I've thought about it and I think this is what we need to do. We could easily sweep everything under the rug. We could kiss and make up, promise not to do these things again and let that be that. But if we do that deep down you know what will end up happening, just as much as I do. This kind of thing will happen again. Maybe not next month…maybe not next year…but it will happen again and again until we aren't strong enough to keep going. I don't want that to happen to us. If we go to therapy together now, we can learn how to keep this from happening again."

"Can I ask why you are so enthusiastic about therapy lately?"

She realized she had to tell him her secret. "Because I've been going to therapy for the past month."

"What?"

She saw the shocked look on his face. "With everything going on, I needed someone to talk to. You were my first choice, but you weren't available. And I didn't want to bother your mom or our friends with it. I needed a safe place where I could let everything out without feeling like I would get judged or hurt anyone's feelings. So I started going to Louis' therapist."

He scoffed. "You're sharing a therapist with Louis?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"I don't want to share a therapist with Louis." He shook his head. "It was bad enough when I found out we shared the same dentist."

"I know that. But Harvey…"

He sighed and interrupted her. "So I pushed you into therapy. That's just great. Now I feel like an even bigger jerk than before."

"You didn't push me into anything." She argued.

"My mom told me yesterday that she has been worried about you and that everything was taking a bigger toll on you than I thought. I guess she was right."

"I just needed a way to clear my head. I thought if I got all of my thoughts out, verbalized them, then things would be easier." She explained.

"Did it help?" He asked.

"Yes. In certain ways it has helped. I've come to terms with losing both Katie and Marcus. I've made my peace with the fact that we are now responsible for raising their kids. In that respect I'm in a much better mind-frame." She nodded. "But the main issue I had was the fact that you were pulling away from me every chance you got."

"I'm sorry about that." He apologized.

"I know. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I just…I think it would help us."

He sighed and walked over to her. "I will do absolutely anything it takes to get us back to a good place again—even if that means I have to share a therapist with Louis."

She gave him a small smile. "If it helps any, Louis doesn't even know I'm seeing Dr. Lipschitz. So we don't have to tell him."

"That does help." He grabbed a hold of one of her hands. "You've really been going to therapy?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I have."

"I've really hurt you, didn't I?" He whispered.

The sound of his whisper tugged at her heart strings and all she could do was nod her head. He sounded so broken and defeated that she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him. "All I've wanted since Marcus' death is for you to come back to me. I've just wanted us to be us again…so when you pulled away and stayed away…I tried so hard to reach you. I tried to get you to open up to me and come back to me. But I couldn't and I felt like a failure. I felt like there was something wrong with me because you weren't wanting to be around me anymore. And I felt like you were going to eventually come back and say that you wanted out of this marriage."

"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "You aren't a failure and I don't want out of this marriage. That is the last thing I will ever want."

"I know that now." She whispered back.

He pulled away so he could look at her face. "Us going to therapy is that important to you?

"Making our marriage stronger is that important to me." She clarified. "I just think that therapy might be the best way to do it."

"Alright." He nodded. "We will go see Louis' therapist."

"Really?" She expected him to put up a bigger fight than this.

"Really." He nodded. "I'm serious about doing anything to make us work."

"Thank you." She smiled.

He pushed a strand of her hair away from her face. "I'd also do anything to see that smile more often."

"Are we going to be ok?" She whispered her question.

"Of course we are." He assured her. "Because there is absolutely no way in hell I'm letting us fall apart like this again."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her lips to his, almost desperate for some of the intimacy that she had been craving for the past several weeks. At first he seemed surprised but then started kissing her back. The next thing she knew she was being guided backwards and her back met with the wall. He had her trapped. Although they were still sort of in public he had his hands running all over her body and that was just fine with her.

"We probably shouldn't do this here." He reluctantly stopped kissing her.

"Probably not." She agreed, trying to catch her breath. "This isn't like the elevator or the dug out back at your old high school. There is a very real possibility that someone could come out here."

"Can we continue this once we get home?" He grinned.

"I'll be very disappointed if we don't."

He grabbed a hold of her hand. "Do you want to go back to the reception?"

"We probably should." She nodded. "Besides, I really want some cake. Louis told me they settled on a chocolate cake with buttercream icing and a raspberry filling."

He laughed. "You and your chocolate."

She playfully punched him. "Hey, the baby wants the cake."

"Sure." He laughed again. "You know you would want that cake even if you weren't pregnant."

"You know me too well." She shook her head.

He grinned. "Damn straight I do." He then started to lead her off of the balcony and back towards the reception. As they walked down the hallway, he grabbed a hold of her hand.

"You know I am glad that our friends now know about the baby." She mentioned.

"I am too." He agreed.

"We can tell Louis when he gets back from his honeymoon." She said. "I don't want to upstage him."

"Yeah. I don't want to either." He agreed.

"Do you want to know a secret?"

He looked over at her and she smiled before leaning in. "Charles asked Donna to marry him and she said yes. We're going to have another wedding to go to soon."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"That's great news." He smiled.

"Just don't say anything because she isn't trying to upstage him either." She cautioned.

"I won't say a word." He promised.

When they got back into the reception, they saw that all of their friends were in the middle of the dance floor. It looked like they were having a good time.

"Looks like it isn't cake time yet." He chuckled. "Wanna go join everyone?"

"Let's do it!" She laughed, letting him lead her to the dance floor. They started to dance along to the beat. She couldn't help smiling as he twirled her around.

After all of the drama and pain from the past few months, it felt amazing to let loose and have fun with everyone. When the song changed to a slow dance, she immediately found her way into Harvey's embrace. While he put one hand on her back and one much lower towards her ass, she cuddled up to him and placed her head right under his chin.

"This is one of my favorite places to be." She told him as they swayed to the song.

"And it's where you belong." He told her.

She wasn't a fool. She knew one dance wasn't going to cure their problems. But at least they had a good plan to get help. As long as they both kept an open mind about therapy they would be alright.

A/N: Alright that is a wrap on this story. I want to thank everyone who has read this, and a special thanks to everyone who has been reviewing it. I have decided to make this into a trilogy. I have a story in mind that completes the journey Harvey and Rebecca started in Synchronicity. So watch out for the third and final installment to come out in a week or so!


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